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The, Encampment without the 

City (Cairo) 

From painting by Theodore Frere 



pp 



Iftsfnrg 0f 




Pii 












By G. MASPERO, Honorable Doctor of Civil Laws, 
and Fellow of Queen s College, Oxford ; Member of 
the Institute and Professor at the College of France 

Edited by A. H. SAYCE, Professor of Assyriology, Oxford 

Translated by M. L. McCLURE, Member of 
the Committee of the Egypt Exploration Fund 




VOL. VII 

Containing over Tivel ve Hundred 
Colored Plates and Illustrations 






THE G R O L I K R S O C I E T Y 
PUBLISHERS A A A LONDON 





r JUN 1 2 



Printed by 

WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED 
LONDON 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

THE ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND THE STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



PAGE 



Assur-nazir-pal (885-860 B.C.) and Shalmaneser III. (860-825 B. c.) - 
The Kingdom of Urartu and its Conquering Princes : Menuas and 
Argistis 



CHAPTER II. 

TIGLATH -PILESER III. AND THE ORGANISATION OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, 

FROM 745 TO 722 B. c. 

Failure of Urartu and Reconquest of Syria Egypt Again United under 
Ethiopian Auspices Pionkhi --The Downfall of Damascus, of 
Babylon, and of Israel 175 



CHAPTER III. 

SARGON OF ASSYRIA (722-705 B. C.) 

Sargon as a Warrior and as a Builder .337 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

The Encampment without the City, Cairo .... Frontispiece 

A mountain raid of Assyrian cavalry ....... 

An Assyrian horseman armed with the sword ..... 

A mounted Assyrian archer with his attendant, charging . . . 

The movable sow making a breach in the wall of a fortress . . 12 

The turreted battering-ram attacking the walls of a town . 

The besieged endeavoring to cripple or destroy the battering-ram 

The Escarpments of the Zab ..... . . 17 

The site of Shadikanni at Arban, on the Khabur ..... 

Enamelled brick and fragment of mural painting (Nimrod) ... 24 
One of the winged bulls found at Arban ....... 24 

Stele from Arban .... 25 

The Zab below the passes of Alan, the ancient Ilaniu .... 37 

Bas-relief from a building at Sinjirli ........ 52 

Jibrin, a village of conical huts, on the Plateau of Aleppo . . .53 
The war-chariot of the KMti of the Ninth Century B. c. . . . 54 

The Assyrian war-chariot of the Ninth Century B. c. . . . . 55 

A king of the Khati hunting a lion in his chariot ..... 56 

The god Hadad 57 

Religious scene displaying Egyptian features ...... 58 

The mounds of Calah .......... 67 

Stele of Assur-Nazir-Pal at Calah ........ 68 

The winged bulls of Assur-Nazir-Pal . . . . . . .70 

Glazed tile from palace of Calah 71 

Lion from Assur-Nazir-Pal s palace . .72 

A corner of the ruined palace of Assur-Nazir-Pal . . . .74 

Shalmaneser III. ........... 77 

The two peaks of Mount Ararat . 79 

Fragment of a votive shield of Urartian work ...... 83 

vii 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Site of an Urartian town at Toprah-Kaleh 84 

The ruins of a palace of Urartu at Toprah-Kaleh ..... 85 
Temple of Khaldis, at Muzazir, pillaged by the Assyrians .... 87 
Assyrian soldiers carrying off or destroying the furniture of an Urartian 

temple 89 

Shalmaneser III. crossing the mountains in his chariot .... 90 

The people of Shugunia fighting against the Assyrians .... 93 

Prisoners from Shugunia, with their arms tied and yokes on their necks . 94 
Sacrifice offered by Shalmaneser III. to the gods of Lake Van, and erec 
tion of a triumphal stele . . . . . . . . .95 

Costumes found in the Fifth Tomb of the Kings to the East. Thebes . 97 
Shua, King of Gilzan, bringing a war-horse fully caparisoned to Shal 
maneser 100 

Dromedaries from GilzSn 101 

Tribute from Gilzan 102 

Tribute from Garparuda, King of the Patina 102 

Mobite stone or stele of Mesha 123 

Jehu, King of Israel, sends presents to Shalmaneser 131 

Part of Israel s tribute to Shalmaneser .132 

A mountain village . . . . . . . . . . .134 

Elephant and monkeys brought as a tribute to Nineveh by the people of 

. Muzri 137 

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III 141 

Stag and lions of the country of Sukhi 142 

The bronze-covered gates of Balawat 144 

Monolith of Samsi-Ramman IV. 148 

Triumphal stele of Menuas at Kelishin 156 

The Gardens and -Hill of Dhuspas or Van .160 

Urartian stele on the rocks of Ak-Keupru 164 

Combat before the walls of a fortress ....... 175 

A vista of the Asiatic Steppe 180 

Specimens of Hebrew pottery . . . . . . . . .188 

Israelites of the higher class in the time of Shalmaneser III. . . . 189 

Judpean peasants . . . . . . . . . . .190 

Women and children of Judaea . 191 

Prayer at sunset 201 

Egyptian altar at Deir-el-Bahari 203 

Principal peak of Mount Bikni (Demavend) 218 

View of the Mountains which guard the southern border of Urartu . . 221 
Bird s-eye view of the Royal Castle of Zinzirli as restored . . . 227 

Tiglath-Pileser III. in his state chariot ... . 232 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix 

PAGE 

The rock and citadel of Van at the present day ...... 235 

Entrance to the modern citadel of Van from the westward . . . 236 
Hebrew inscription on the Siloam aqueduct . . . . . .241 

Bronze statuette of Osorkon I. ......... 242 

The great temple of Bubastis during Naville s excavations . . . 243 
Gate of the festival-hall at Bubastis ........ 245 

Small bronze sphinx of Siamun . . . . . . . . .248 

Ruins of the temple at Khninsu after Naville s excavations . . . 249 
King Petubastis at prayer .......... 253 

View of a part of the ruins of Napata ....... 255 

Gebel-Barkal, the sacred mountain of Napata 256 

Ruins of the Temple of Amon at Napata . . . . . . . 257 

A nearly pure Ethiopian type ......... 260 

Mixed negro and Ethiopian type ........ 260 

Ruins of Oxyrrhynchos and the modern town of Bahnesa .... 263 

King Namroti leading a horse to Pionkhi 266 

Ruins of the temple of Thoth at Hermopolis the great .... 267 
King Tafnakhti presents a field to Tumu and to Bastit .... 276 
Mount Hermon ............ 288 

An Arab 289 

Arab Meharis ridden down by the Assyrian cavalry . . . . .290 

Arab School 291 

A Kaldu 294 

Tiglath-Pileser III. besieging a rebellious city . . . . . .312 

A herd of horses brought in as tribute ....... 314 

Typical Cappadocian horse . . . . . . .315 

The foundation of a Bit-Khilani at Zinjirli ...... 317 

Base of a column at Zinjirli . . . . . . . . .318 

Stele of Bel-Harran-Beluzur .320 

Manuscript on papyrus in hieroglyphics ....... 322 

Sargon of Assyria and his vizier ........ 334 

The Mound of Khorsabad before Botta s excavations . . . . .339 

Assyrian soldiers pursuing Kalda refugees in a bed of reeds . . . 343 
A reed-hut of the Bedawin of Irak ........ 344 

Brick bearing the name of the Susian King Shilkhak-Inshushinak . . 346 
Bas-relief of Naram-sin, transported to Susa by Shutruk-Nakhunta . . 348 
The great rock bas-relief of Malamir . . . . . . . 349 

laubidi of Hamath being flayed alive ....... 356 

Taking of a castle in Zikartu 364 

Taking of the city of Kishisim by the Assyrians . . . . . 369 



x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The town of Bit-Bagaia burnt by the Assyrians 372 

King Bocchoris giving judgment between two women, rival claimants to a 

child . . 374 

Sabaco ...... .... 375 

Taking of a town in Urartu by the Assyrians .... . 378 

The seal of Urzana, King of Muzazir - , . . . . .379 

The Assyrians taking a Median town 381 

Stele at Larnaka 396 

Part of the enamelled course of a gate 

Bird s-eye view of Sargon s palace at Dur-Sharrukin 402 

One of the gates of the palace at Dur-Sharrukin . . . 403 

One of the bronze lions from Dur-Sharrukin . . 405 

A hunting expedition in the woods near Dur-Sharrukin .... 406 

The Ziggurat at Dur-Sharrukiu . .... 408 

Section of a bedroom in the Harem 409 

Main door of the harem at Dur-Sharrukin 410 




THE ASSYRIAN REVIVAL 

AXD 

THE STRUGGLE FOR STRIA 



ASSUR NAZIR-PAL (885-860 B.C.) AND SIIALMANESER III. (860-825 B.C.) 

THE KINGDOM OP URARTU AND ITS CONQUERING PRINCES: MENUAS AND 
ARGISTIS. 

The line of Assyrian kings after Assurirba, and the Babylonian dynasties : 
the war between Bammdn-nirdri III. and Shamash-mudammiq ; his victories 
over Babylon; Tulculti-ninip II. (890-885 B.C.) The empire at the accession 
of Assur-nazir-pal : the Assyrian army and the progress of military tactics; 
cavalry, military engines; the condition of Assyria s neighbours, methods of 
Assyrian conquest. 

Tlie first campaigns of Assur-nazir-pal in Nairi and on the KJiabur 

(885-882 B.C.) : Zamua reduced to an Assyrian province (881 B.C.) The fourth 

campaign in Nairi and the war on the Euphrates (880 B.C.) ; the first conquest 
of Blt-Adini Northern Syria at the opening of the IX th century : its civilisation, 
arts, army, and religion The submission of the Hittite states and of the Patind : 
the Assyrians reach the Mediterranean. 

The empire after the tears of Assur-nazir-pal Building of the palace at 
Calah: Assyrian architecture and sculpture in the IX th century The tunnel of 
VOL. VII. B 



( 2 ) 

Negub and the palace of Balawdt The last years of Assur-nazir-pal : his cam 
paign of the year 867 in Nalri The death of Assur-nazir-pal (860 B.C.) : his 
character. 

Shalmaneser III. (860-825 B.C.) : the state of the empire at his accession- 
Urartu: its physical features, races, towns, temples, its deities Shalmaneser s 
first campaign in Urartu: he penetrates as far as Lake Fan (860 B.C.) The 
conquest of Bit-Adini and of Nairi (859-855 B.C.) 

The attack on Damascus : the battle of Qarqar (854 B.C.) and the war 
against Babylon (852-851 B.C.) Tlie alliance between Judah and Israel, the 
death of Ahab (853 B.C.) ; Damascus successfully resists the attacks of Assyria 
(849_846 B.C.) Moab delivered from Israel, Mesha ; the death of Ben-hadad 
(Adadidri) and the accession of Hazacl ; the fall of the house of Omri Jehu 
(843 B.C.) The defeat of Hazael and the homage of Jehu (842-839 B.C.). 

Wars in Cilicia and in Namri (838-835 B.C.) : the last battles of Shal 
maneser III. ; his buildinj ivories, the revolt of Assur-dain-palSamsi-rammdn 
IV. (825-812 B.C.), his first three expeditions, his campaigns against Babylon- 
Bammdnnirdri IV. (812-783 B.C.) Jehu, Athaliah, Joash : the supremacy of 
Hazael over Israel and Judah Victory of Bammdn-nirdri over Mari, and the 
submission of all Syria to the Assyrians (803 B.C.). 

The growth of Urartu: the conquests of Menuas and Argistis I., their 
victories over Assyria -Shalmaneser IV. (783-772 B.C.) Assurddn III. 
(772-754 B.C.) Assur-nirdri III. (754-745 B.C.) The downfall of Assyria 
and the triumph of Urartu. 





A iiOUXTAIX RAID OF ASSYRIAN CAVALRY. 1 



CHAPTER I 

THE ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND THE STRUGGLE 

FOR SYRIA 

Assur-nazir-pal (885-860) and Shahnaneser III. (860-825) 
The kingdom of Urartu and its conquering princes : 
Menuas and Argistis. 

A SSYBIA was the first to reappear on the 




scene of action. Less hampered by an 
ancient past than Egypt and Chaldaea, she was 
the sooner able to recover her strength after 
any disastrous crisis, and to assume again the 
offensive along the whole of her frontier line. 
During the years immediately following the 
ephemeral victories and reverses of Assurirba, both the 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bas-relief at Koyunjik of the time of 
Sennacherib. The initial cut, which is also by Faucher-Gudin, represents 
the broken obelisk of Assur-nazir-pal, the bas-reliefs of which are as yet 
unpublished. 



4 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

country and its rulers are plunged in the obscurity of 
oblivion. Two figures at length, though at what date is 
uncertain, emerge from the darkness a certain Irbaramman 
and an Assur-nadinakhe II., whom we find engaged in 
building palaces and making a necropolis. They were 
followed towards 950 by a Tiglath-pileser II., of whom 
nothing is known but his name. 1 He in his turn was 
succeeded about the year 935 by one Assurdan II., who 
appears to have concentrated his energies upon public 
works, for we hear of him digging a canal to supply his 
capital with water, restoring the temples and fortifying 
towns. Ramman-nirari III., who followed him in 912, 
stands out more distinctly from the mists which envelop the 
history of this period; he repaired the gate of the Tigris 
and the adjoining wall at Assur, he enlarged its principal 
sanctuary, reduced several rebellious provinces to obedience, 
and waged a successful warfare against the neighbouring 
inhabitants of Karduniash. Since the extinction of the 
race of Nebuchadrezzar I., Babylon had been a prey to 
civil discord and foreign invasion. The Aramaean tribes 
mingled with, or contiguous to the remnants of the 
Cossa3ans bordering on the Persian gulf, constituted 
possibly, even at this period, the powerful nation of the 
Kalda. 2 It has been supposed, not without probability, 
that a certain Simashshikhu, Prince of the Country of 

1 Our only knowledge of Tiglath-pileser II. is from a brick, on which he 
is mentioned as being the grandfather of Ramman-nirari II. 

2 The names Chaldfea and Chaldseans being ordinarily used to designate 
the territoi-y and people of Babylon, I shall employ the term Kaldu or Kalda 
in treating of the Aramaean tribes who constituted the actual Chaldsean 
nation. 



THE VICTORIES OVER BABYLOX 5 

the Sea, who immediately followed the last scion of the 
line of Pashe, 1 was one of their chiefs. He endeavoured 
to establish order in the city, and rebuilt the temple of 
the Sun destroyed by the nomads at Sippar, but at the 
end of eighteen years he was assassinated. His son 
Eamukinshuniu remained at the head of affairs some three 
to six months ; Kashshu-nadinakhe ruled three or six years, 
at the expiration of which a man of the house of Bazi, 
Eulbar-shakinshumi by name, seized upon the crown. 2 His 
dynasty consisted of three members, himself included, and 
it was overthrown after a duration of twenty years by an 
Elamite, who held authority for another seven. 3 It was a 
period of calamity and distress, during which the Arabs or 
the Arama3ans ravaged the country, and pillaged without 
compunction not only the property of the inhabitants, but 
also that of the gods. The Elamite usurper having died 

The name of this prince has been read Simbarshiku by Peiser, a reading 
adopted by Rost ; Simbarshiku would have been shortened into Sibir, and 
we should have to identify it with that of the Sibir mentioned by Assur- 
nazir-pal in his Annals, col. ii. 1. 84, as a king of Karduniash who lived before 
his (Assur-nazir-pal s) time (see p. 38 of the present volume). 

The name of this king may be read Edubarshakin-shumi. The house 
of Bazi takes its name from an ancestor who must have founded it at some 
unknown date, but who never reigned in Chaldsea. Winckler has with 
reason conjectured that the name subsequently lost its meaning to the 
Babylonians, and that they confused the Chaldean house of Bazi with thn 
Arab country of Bazu : this may explain why in his dynasties Berosos 
attributes an Arab origin to that one which comprises the short-lived line 
of Bit-Bazi. 

3 Our knowledge of these events is derived solely from the texts of the 
Babylonian Canon published and translated by G. Smith, by Pinches, and 
by Sayce. The inscription of Nabubaliddin informs us that Kashu-nadinakhe 
and Eulbar-shakinshumu continued the works begun by Simashshiku in the 
temple of the Sun at Sippar. 



6 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

about the year 1030, a Babylonian of noble extraction 
expelled the intruders, and succeeded in bringing the 
larger part of the kingdom under his rule. 1 Five or six 
of his descendants had passed away, and a certain Shamash- 
mudammiq was feebly holding the reins of government, 
when the expeditions of Raminan-nirari III. provoked war 
afresh between Assyria and Babylon. The two armies 
encountered each other once again on their former battle 
field between the Lower Zab and the Turnat. Shamash- 
mudaminiq, after being totally routed near the Yalman 
mountains, did not long survive, and Naboshumishkun, who 
succeeded him, showed neither more ability nor energy 
than his predecessor. The Assyrians wrested from him the 
fortresses of Bambala and Bagdad, dislodged him from the 
positions where he had entrenched himself, and at length 
took him prisoner while in flight, and condemned him to 
perpetual captivity. 2 His successor abandoned to the 

1 The names of the first kings of this dynasty are destroyed in the 
copies of the Royal Canon which have come down to us. The three pre 
ceding dynasties are restored as follows : 

SIMASH-SHIKU . . . 18 years 5 months ( or according "j 1 7 years 3 months. 
EAMUK!N-SIIUMU . . 5 months I to another 3 months. 

KASIIU-NAD!NAKHE . . 3 years ( computation ; 6 years. 

Total for the dynasty 

of the Sea Country 21 years 10 months 23 years 6 months. 

EULBAR-SHAKIN-SHUMU 17 years ,, 15 years. 

NINIP-KUDURUSUR . . 3 years 2 years. 

SHILAN!MSHUKAMUNA . 3 months 3 months. 

Total for the dynasty 

of Bazi . . . .20 years 3 months. 

2 Shamash-mudammiq appears to have died about 900. Naboshumish 
kun probably reigned only one or two years, from 900 to 899 or to 898. 
The name of his successor is destroyed in the Synchronous History ; it might 



TUKULTI-NINIP I. 7 

Assyrians most of the districts situated on the left bank 
of the Lower Zab between the Zagros mountains and the 
Tigris, and peace, which was speedily secured by a double 
marriage, remained unbroken for nearly half a century. 
Tukulti-ninip II. was fond of fighting ; " he overthrew his 
adversaries and exposed their heads upon stakes," but, 
unlike his predecessor, he directed his efforts against Nairi 
and the northern and western tribes. We possess no 
details of his campaigns ; we can only surmise that in 
six years, from 890 to 885, 1 he brought into subjection the 
valley of the Upper Tigris and the rnouDtain provinces 
which separate it from the Assyrian plain. Having 
reached the source of the river, he carved, beside the 
image of Tiglath-pileser L, the following inscription, which 
may still be read upon the rock. " With the help of Assur, 
Shamash, and Kamman, the gods of his religion, he reached 
this spot. The lofty mountains he subjugated from the sun- 
rising to its down-setting ; victorious, irresistible, he came 
hither, and like unto the lightning he crossed the raging 
rivers." 2 

He did not live long to enjoy his triumphs, but his 

be Nabubaliddin, who seems to have had a long life, but it is wiser, until 
fresh light is thrown on the subject, to admit that it is some prince other 
than Nabubaliddin, whose name is as yet unknown to us. 

1 The parts preserved of the Eponym canon begin their record in 893, 
about the end of the reign of Ramman-nirari II. The line which dis 
tinguishes the two reigns from one another is drawn between the name of 
the personage who corresponds to the year 890, and that of Tukulti-ninip 
who corresponds to the year 889 : Tukulti-ninip II., therefore, begins his 
reign in 890, and his death is six years later, in 885. 

2 This inscription and its accompanying bas-relief are mentioned in the 
Annals of Assur-nazirpal. 



8 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AXD STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

death made no impression on the impulse given to the 
fortunes of his country. The kingdom which he left to 
Assur-nazir-pal, the eldest of his sons, embraced scarcely 
any of the countries which had paid tribute to former 
sovereigns. Besides Assyria proper, it comprised merely 
those districts of Nairi which had been annexed within 
his own generation ; the remainder had gradually regained 
their liberty : first the outlying dependencies Cilicia, 
Melitene, Northern Syria, and then the provinces nearer 
the capital, the valleys of the Masios and the Zagros, the 
steppes of the Khabur, and even some districts such as 
Lubdi and Shupria, which had been allotted to Assyrian 
colonists at various times after successful campaigns. 
Nearly the whole empire had to be reconquered under 
much the same conditions as in the first instance. Assyria 
itself, it is true, had recovered the vitality and elasticity 
of its earlier days. The people were a robust and energetic 
race, devoted to their rulers, and ready to follow them 
blindly and trustingly wherever they might lead. The 
army, while composed chiefly of the same classes of troops 
as in the time of Tiglath-pileser I., spearmen, archers, 
sappers, and slingers, now possessed a new element, 
whose appearance on the field of battle was to revolutionize 
the whole method of warfare ; this was the cavalry, property 
so called, introduced as an adjunct to the chariotry. The 
number of horsemen forming this contingent was as yet 
small ; like the infantry, they wore casques and cuirasses, 
but were clothed with a tight-fitting loin-cloth in place 
of the long kilt, the folds of which would have embarrassed 
their movements. One-half of the men carried sword and 



ASSYRIAN CAVALRY 



9 



lance, the other half sword and bow, the latter of a smaller 
kind than that used by the infantry. Their horses were 
bridled, and bore trappings on the forehead, but had no 
saddles ; their riders rode bareback without stirrups ; they 
sat far back with the chest thrown forward, their knees 




AN ASSYRIAN HORSEMAN AR5IED WITH THE SWORD. 1 

drawn up to grip the shoulder of the animal. Each horse 
man was attended by a groom, who rode abreast of him, 
and held his reins during an action, so that he might be 
free to make use of his weapons. This body of cavalry, 
having little confidence in its own powers, kept in close 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Guclin, from a bas-relief in bronze on the gate of 
Balawat. The Assyrian artist has shown the head and legs of the second 
horse in profile behind the first, but he has forgotten to represent the rest 
of its body, and also the man riding it. 



10 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

contact with the main body of the army, and was not used 
in independent manoeuvres ; it was associated with and 
formed an escort to the chariotry in expeditions where 
speed was essential, and where the ordinary foot soldier 




A MOUNTED ASSYRIAN AECHER WITH HIS ATTENDANT, CHARGING. 1 

would have hampered the movements of the charioteers. 2 
The army thus reinforced was at all events more efficient, 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bronze bas-reliefs of the gate 
of Balawat. 

2 Isolated horsemen must no doubt have existed in the Assyrian just as 
in the Egyptian army, but we never find any mention of a body of cavalry in 
inscriptions prior to the time of Assur-nazir-pal ; the introduction of this 
new corps must consequently have taken place between the reigns of Tiglath- 
pileser and Assur-nazir-pal, probably nearer the time of the latter. Assur- 
nazir-pal himself seldom speaks of his cavalry, but he constantly makes 
mention of the horsemen of the Aramaean and Syrian principalities, whom he 
incorporated into his own army. 



MILITARY TACTICS: BESIEGING ENGINES 11 

if not actually more powerful, than formerly ; the discipline 
maintained was as severe, the military spirit as keen, the 
equipment as perfect, and the tactics as skilful as in former 
times. A knowledge of engineering had improved upon 
the former methods of taking towns by sapping and scaling, 
and though the number of military engines was as yet 
limited, the besiegers were well able, when occasion 
demanded, to improvise and make use of machines capable 
of demolishing even the strongest walls. 1 The Assyrians 
were familiar with all the different kinds of battering-ram ; 
the hand variety, which was merely a beam tipped with 
iron, worked by some score of men ; the fixed ram, in 
which the beam was suspended from a scaffold and moved 
by means of ropes ; and lastly, the movable ram, running 
on four or six wheels, which enabled it to be advanced or 
withdrawn at will. The military engineers of the day 
allowed full rein to their fancy in the many curious shapes 
they gave to this latter engine ; for example, they gave 
to the mass of bronze at its point the form of the head 
of an animal, and the whole engine took at times the 
form of a sow ready to root up with its snout the founda 
tions of the enemy s defences. The scaffolding of the 
machine was usually protected by a carapace of green 
leather or some coarse woollen material stretched over it, 
which broke the force of blows from projectiles : at times 

1 The battering-ram had already reached such a degree of perfection 
under Assur-nazir-pal, that it must have been invented some time before the 
execution of the first bas-reliefs on which we see it portrayed. Its points of 
resemblance to the Greek battering-ram furnished Hcefer with one of his 
main arguments for placing the monuments of Khorsabad and Koyunjik as 
late as the Persian or Partliian period. 



12 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

it had an additional arrangement in the shape of a cupola 
or turret in which archers were stationed to sweep the 
face of the wall opposite to the point of attack. The 
battering-rams were set up and placed in line at a short 
distance from the ramparts of the besieged town ; the 




THE MOVABLE SOW MAKING A BREACH IX THE WALL OF A FORTRESS. 1 

ground in front of them was then levelled and a regular 
causeway constructed, which was paved with bricks 
wherever the soil appeared to be lacking in firmness. 
These preliminaries accomplished, the engines were pushed 
forward by relays of troops till they reached the required 
range. The effort needed to set the ram in motion severely 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bronze bas-reliefs of the gate 
of Balawat. 



THE BATTERING-RAM 



13 



taxed the strength of those engaged in the work ; for the 
size of the beam was enormous, and its iron point, or the 
square mass of metal at the end, was of no light weight. 
The besieged did their best to cripple or, if possible, 
destroy the engine as it approached them. Torches, 
lighted tow, burning pitch, and stink-pots were hurled 




THE TURRETED BATTERIXG-KAM ATTACKING THE WALLS OF A TOWN. 1 

down upon its roofing : attempts were made to seize the 
head of the ram by means of chains or hooks, so as to 
prevent it from moving, or in order to drag it on to the 
battlements; in some cases the garrison succeeded in 
crushing the machinery with a mass of rock.. The 
Assyrians, however, did not allow themselves to be dis 
couraged by such trifling accidents ; they would at once 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bas-relief brought from Nimroud, 
now in the British Museum. 



14 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

extinguish the fire, release, by sheer force of muscle, the 
beams which the enemy had secured, and if, notwith 
standing all their efforts, one of the machines became 
injured, they had others ready to take its place, and the 
ram would be again at work after only a few minutes 




THE BESIEGED ENDEAVOURING TO CRIPPLE OR DESTROY THE BATTERIXG-RAM. 1 

delay. Walls, even when of burnt brick or faced with 
small stones, stood no chance against such an attack. 
The first blow of the ram sufficed to shake them, and an 
opening was rapidly made, so that in a few days, often 
in a few hours, they became a heap of ruins ; the foot 
soldiers could then enter by the breach which the pioneers 
had effected. 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bas-relief from Nimroud, now in the 
British Museum. 



THE CONDITION OF ASSYRIA S NEIGHBOURS 15 

It must, however, be remembered that the strength and 
discipline which the Assyrian troops possessed in such a 
high degree, were common to the military forces of all the 
great states Elam, Damascus, Nairi, the Hittites, and 
Chaldsea. It was owing to this, and also to the fact that 
the armies of all these Powers were, as a rule, both in 
strength and numbers, much on a par, that no single state 
was able to inflict on any of the rest such a defeat as would 
end in its destruction. What decisive results had the 
terrible struggles produced, which stained almost 
periodically the valleys of the Tigris and the Zab with 
blood? After endless loss of life and property, they had 
nearly always issued in the establishment of the belligerents 
in their respective possessions, with possibly the cession of 
some few small towns or fortresses to the stronger party, 
most of which, however, were destined to come back to its 
former possessor in the very next campaign. The fall of 
the capital itself was not decisive, for it left the vanquished 
foe chafing under his losses, while the victory cost his rival 
so dear that he was unable to maintain the ascendencj^ for 
more than a few years. Twice at least in three centuries a 
king of Assyria had entered Babylon, and twice the 
Babylonians had expelled the intruder of the hour, and had 
forced him back with a blare of trumpets to the frontier. 
Although the Ninevite dynasties had persisted in their 
pretensions to a suzerainty which they had generally been 
unable to enforce, the tradition of which, unsupported by 
any definite decree, had been handed on from one genera 
tion to another ; yet in practice their kings had not 
succeeded in "taking the hands of Bel," and in reigning 



10 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

personally in Babylon, nor in extorting from the native 
sovereign an official acknowledgment of his vassalage. 
Profiting doubtless by past experience, Assur-nazir-pal 
resolutely avoided those direct conflicts in which so many 
of his predecessors had wasted their lives. If he did not 
actually renounce his hereditary pretensions, he was 
content to let them lie dormant. He preferred to accom 
modate himself to the terms of the treaty signed a few- 
years previously by Bamman-nirari, even when Babylon 
neglected to observe them ; he closed his eyes to the many 
ill-disguised acts of hostility to which he was exposed, 1 and 
devoted all his energies to dealing with less dangerous 
enemies. Even if his frontier touched Karduniash to the 
south, elsewhere he was separated from the few states 
strong enough to menace his kingdom by a strip of varying 
width, comprising several less important tribes and cities ; 
to the east and north-east by the barbarians of obscure 
race whose villages and strongholds were scattered along 
the upper affluents of the Tigris or on the lower terraces of 
the Iranian plateau : to the west and north-west by the 
principalities and nomad tribes, mostly of Aramaean 
extraction, who now for a century had peopled the 
mountains of the Tigris and the steppes of Mesopotamia. 
They were high-spirited, warlike, hardy populations, proud 
of their independence and quick to take up arms in its 
defence or for its recovery, but none of them possessed 
more than a restricted domain, or had more than a handful 

He did not make the presence of Cossrean troops among the allies of 
the Sukhi a casusbetti, even though they were commanded by a brother and 
by one of the principal officers of the King of Babylon. 



METHODS OF ASSYRIAN CONQUEST 



17 



of soldiers at its disposal. At times, it is true, the nature 
of their locality befriended them, and the advantages of 
position helped to compensate for their paucity of numbers. 
Sometimes they were entrenched behind one of those rapid 
watercourses like the Eadanu, the Zab, or the Turn at, 




THE ESCARPMENTS OF THE ZAB. 1 

which are winter torrents rather than streams, and are 
overhung by steep banks, precipitous as a wall above a 
moat ; sometimes they took refuge upon some wooded 
height and awaited attack amid its rocks and pine woods. 
Assyria was superior to all of them, if not in the valour of 
its troops, at least numerically, and, towering in the midst 
of them, she could single out at will whichever tribe offered 

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Binder. 
VOL. VII. C 



18 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the easiest prey, and falling on it suddenly, would crush it 
by sheer force of weight. In such a case the surrounding 
tribes, usually only too well pleased to witness in safety the 
fall of a dangerous rival, would not attempt to interfere ; 
but their turn was ere long sure to come, and the pity 
which they had declined to show to their neighbours was in 
like manner refused to them. The Assyrians ravaged their 
country, held their chiefs to ransom, razed their strong 
holds, or, when they did not demolish them, garrisoned 
them with their own troops who held sway over the country. 
The revenues gleaned from these conquests would swell 
the treasury at Nineveh, the native soldiers would be 
incorporated into the Assyrian army, and when the smaller 
tribes had all in turn been subdued, their conqueror would, 
at length, find himself confronted with one of the great 
states from which he had been separated by tbese buffer 
communities ; then it was that the men and money he had 
appropriated in his conquests would embolden him to 
provoke or accept battle with some tolerable certainty of 
victory. 

Immediately on his accession, Assur-nazir-pal turned his 
attention to the parts of his frontier where the population 
was most scattered, and therefore less able to offer any 
resistance to his projects. 1 He marched towards the 

The principal document for the history of Assur-nazir-pal is the 
" Monolith of Nimrud," discovered by Layard in the ruins of the temple of 
Ninip ; it bears the same inscription on both its sides. It is a compilation 
of various documents, comprising, first, a consecutive account of the cam 
paigns of the king s first six years, terminating in a summary of the results 
obtained during that period ; secondly, the account of the campaign of his 
sixth year, followed by three campaigns not dated, the last of which was in 



ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL S FIRST CAMPAIGN IN NAIRI 19 

north- western point of his territory, suddenly invaded 
Nummi, 1 and in an incredibly short time took Gubbe, 
its capital, and some half-dozen lesser places, among them 
Surra, Abuku, Arura, and Arubi. The inhabitants 
assembled upon a mountain ridge which they believed 
to be inaccessible, its peak being likened to " the point of 
an iron dagger," and the steepness of its sides such that 
"no winged bird of the heavens dare venture on them." 
In the short space of three days Assur-nazir-pal succeeded 
in climbing its precipices and forcing the entrenchments 
which had been thrown up on its summit : two hundred 
of its defenders perished sword in hand, the remainder 
were taken prisoners. The Kirruri, 2 terrified by this 

Syria ; and thirdly, the history of a last campaign, that of his eighteenth 
year, and a second summary. A monolith found in the ruins of Kurkh, at 
some distance from Diarbekir, contains some important additions to the 
account of the campaigns of the fifth year. The other numerous inscriptions 
of Assur-nazir-pal which have come down to us do not contain any informa 
tion of importance which is not found in the text of the Annals. The 
inscription of the broken Obelisk, from which I have often quoted, con 
tains in the second column some mention of the works undertaken by this 
king. 

1 Nummi or Nimmi, mentioned already in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser 
I., has been placed by Hommel in the mountain group which separates Lake 
Van from Lake Urumiah, but by Tiele in the regions situated to the south 
east of Nineveh ; the observations of Delattre show that we ought perhaps 
to look for it to the north of the Arzania, certainly in the valley of that 
river. It appears to me to answer to the cazas of Varto and Boulanik in 
the sandjak of Mush. The name of the capital may be identified with the 
present Gop, chief town of the caza of Boulanik ; in this case Abuku might be 
represented by the village of Biyonkh. 

The Kirruri must have had their habitat in the depression around Lake 
Urumiah, on the western side of the lake, if we are to believe Schrader ; 
Delattre has pointed out that it ought to be sought elsewhere, near the 
sources of the Tigris, not far from the Murad-su. The connection in which 



20 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

example, submitted unreservedly to the conqueror, yielded 
him their horses, mules, oxen, sheep, wine, and brazen 
vessels, and accepted the Assyrian prefects appointed to 
collect the tribute. The neighbouring districts, Adaush, 
Gilzan, and Khubushkia, followed their example; 1 they 
sent the king considerable presents of gold, silver, lead, 
and copper, and their alacrity in buying off their conqueror 
saved them from the ruinous infliction of a garrison. The 
Assyrian army defiling through the pass of Khulun next 
fell upon the Kirkhi, dislodged the troops stationed in the 
fortress of Nishtuu, and pillaged the cities of Khatu, 
Khatara, Irbidi, Arzania, Tela, and Khalua ; 2 Bubu, the 

it is here cited obliges us to place it in the immediate neighbourhood of 
Nummi, and its relative position to Adaush and Gilzan makes it probable 
that it is to be sought to the west and south-west of Lake Van, in the cazas 
of Mush and Sassun in the sandjak of Mush. 

1 Kirzau, also transcribed Gilzan and Guzan, has been relegated by the 
older Assyriologists to Eastern Armenia, and the site further specified as 
being between the ancient Araxes and Lake Urumiah, in the Persian 
provinces of Khoi and Marand. The indications given in our text and the 
passages brought together by Schrader, which place Gilzan in direct con 
nection with Kirruri on one side and with Kurkhi on the other, oblige us 
to locate the country in the upper basin of the Tigris, and I should place it 
near Bitlis-tchai, where different forms of the word occur many times on the 
map, such as Ghalzan in Ghalzan-dagh ; Kharzan, the name of a caza of the 
sandjak of Sert ; Khizan, the name of a caza of the sandjak of Bitlis. 
Girzan-Kilzan would thus be the Roman province of Arzanene, Ardzn in 
Armenian, in which the initial g or k of the ancient name has been replaced 
in the process of time by a soft aspirate. Khubushkia or Khutushkia has 
been placed by Lenormant to the east of the Upper Zab, and south of 
Arapkha, and this identification has been approved by Schrader and also by 
Delitzsch ; according to the passages that Schrader himself has cited, it must, 
however, have stretched northwards as far as Shatakh-su, meeting Gilzan 
at one point of the sandjaks of Van and Hakkiari. 

2 Assur-nasdr-pal, in going from Kirruri to Kirkhi in the basin of the 
Tigris, could go either by the pass of Bitlis or that of Sassun ; that of Bitlis 



ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL FOUNDS A COLONY 



21 



Chief of Nishtun, 1 was sent to Arbela, flayed alive, and his 
skin nailed to the city wall. In a small town near one of 



T/ 

. / / 1 ii < i 

TEE CAMPAIGNS 
OF ASSUR.-NAZffi.-PAL 



A - ^ 

\ --... *& 




the sources of the Tigris, Assur-nazir-pal founded a colony 
on which he imposed his name ; he left there a statue of 

is excluded by the fact that it lies in Kirruri, and Kirrui i is not mentioned 
in what follows. But if the route chosen was by the pass of Sassun, Khulun 
necessarily must have occupied a position at the entrance of the denies, per 
haps that of the present town of Khorukh. The name Khatu recalls that 
of the Khoith tribe which the Armenian historians mention as in this 
locality. Khaturu is perhaps Hatera in the caza of Lidje, in the sandjak of 
DiarbeMr, and Arzania the ancient Arzan, Arzn, the ruins of which may be 
seen near Sheikh- Yunus. Tila-Tela is not the same town as the Tela in Meso 
potamia, which we shall have occasion to speak of later, but is probably to 
be identified with Til or Tilleh, at the confluence of the Tigris and the 
Bohtan-tcha. Finally, it is possible that the name Khalua may be pre 
served in that of Halewi, which Layard gives as belonging to a village 
situated almost halfway between Rundvan and Til. 

Nishtun was probably the most important spot in this region : from its 
position on the list, between Khulun and Khataru on one side and Arzania 
on the other, it is evident we must look for it somewhere in Sassun or in the 
direction of Mayafarrikin. 



22 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

himself, with an inscription celebrating his exploits carved 
on its base, and having done this, he returned to Nineveh 
laden with booty. A few weeks had sufficed for him to 
complete, on this side, the work bequeathed to him by his 
father, and to open up the neighbourhood of the north- 







THE SITE OF SHADIKAXXI AT AKBAN, OX THE KHABUK. 1 

east provinces; he was not long in setting out afresh, 
this time to the north-west, in the direction of the Taurus. 2 
He rapidly skirted the left bank of. the Tigris, burned some 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a sketch taken by Layard. 

2 The text of the " Annals " declares that these events took place "in 
this same limmu," in what the king calls higher up in the column " the 
beginning of my royalty, the first year of my reign." We must therefore 
suppose that he ascended the throne almost at the beginning of the year, 
since he was able to make two campaigns under the same eponym. 



COLLECTING THE TRIBUTE 23 

score of scattered hamlets at the foot of Nipur and Pazatu, 1 
crossed to the right bank, above Ainidi, and, as he 
approached the Euphrates, received the voluntary homage 
of Kummukh and the Mushku. 2 But while he was com 
placently engaged in recording the amount of vessels of 
bronze, oxen, sheep, and jars of wine which represented 
their tribute, a messenger of bad tidings appeared before 
him. Assyria was bounded on the east by a line of small 
states, comprising the Katna 3 and the Bit-Khalupi, 4 whose 

1 Nipur or Nibur is the Nibaros of Strabo. If we consider the general 
direction of the campaign, we are inclined to place Nipur close to the bank 
of the Tigris, east of the regions traversed in the preceding campaign, and 
to identify it, as also Pazatu, with the group of high hills called at the 
present day the Ashit-dagh, between the Kharzan-su and the Batman- 
tchai. 

2 The Mushku (Moschiano or Meshek) mentioned here do not represent 
the main body of the tribe, established in Cappaclocia ; they are the 
descendants of such of the Mushku as had crossed the Euphrates and con 
tested the possession of the regions of Kashiari with the Assyrians. 

3 The name has been read sometimes Katna, sometimes Shuna. The 
country included the two towns of Karnani and Dur-Katlimi, and on the 
south adjoined Bit-Khalupi ; this identifies it with the districts of Magada 
and Sheddadiyeh, and, judging by the information with which Assur-nazir- 
pal himself furnishes us, it is not impossible that Dur-Katline may have 
been on the site of the present Magarda, and Kamani on that of Shedda 
diyeh. Ancient ruins have been pointed out on both these spots. 

4 Suru, the capital of Bit-Khalupi, was built upon the Khabur itself 
where it is navigable, for Assur-nazir-pal relates further on that he had his 
royal barge built there at the time of the cruise which he undertook on 
the Euphrates in the VI th year of his reign. The itineraries of modern 
travellers mention a place called es-Sauar or es-Saur, eight hours march 
from the mouth of the Khabur on the right bank of the river, situated at 
the foot of a hill some 220 feet high ; the ruins of a fortified enclosure 
and of an ancient town are still visible. Following Tomkins, I should there 
place Suru, the chief town of Khalupi ; Bit-Khalupi would be the territory 
in the neighbourhood of es-Saur. 



21 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



towns, placed alternately like sentries on each side the 
Khabur, protected her from the incursions of the Bedawin. 
They were virtually Chaldaean cities, having been, like 
most of those which flourished in the Mesopotamian plains, 

thoroughly impreg 
nated with Baby 
lonian civilisation. 
Shadikanni, the most 
important of them, 
commanded the right 
bank of the Khabur, 
and also the ford 
where the road from 
Nineveh crossed the 
river on the route to 
Harian and Carehe- 
mish. The palaces of 
its rulers were deco 
rated with winged 
bulls, lions, stelae, 
and has - reliefs 
carved in marble brought from the hills of Singar. The 
people seem to have been of a capricious temperament, 
and, nothwithstanding the supervision to which they were 
subjected, few reigns elapsed in which it was not necessary 
to put down a rebellion among them. Bit-Khalupi and 
its capital Suru had thrown off the Assyrian yoke after 
the death of Tukulti-ninip ; the populace, stirred up no 
doubt by Aramaean emissaries, had assassinated the 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch by Layard. 



tfr 

^yjcrrv N 




ONE OF THE WINGED BULLS FOUND AT ARE AN. 1 



NO. 1. 







NO. 2. 

NO. 1. ENAMELED BRICK (NIMROD). 

NO. 2. FRAGMENT OF MURAL PAINTING (NIMROD). 



ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL S CAMPAIGN ON THE KHABUR 25 

Harnathite who governed them, and had sent for a certain 
Akhiababa, a man of base extraction from Bit-Adini, 
whom they had proclaimed king. This defection, if not 
promptly dealt with, was likely to entail serious conse 
quences, since it left an important point on the frontier 
exposed; and there now re 
mained nothing to prevent 
the people of Adini or their 
allies from spreading over the 
country between the Khabur 
and the Jigris, and even push 
ing forward their marauding 
bands as far as the very walls 
of Singar and Assur. With 
out losing a moment, Assur- 
nazir-pal inarched down the 
course of the Khabur, hastily 
collecting the tribute of the 
cities through which he 
passed. The defenders of 
Suru were disconcerted by 
his sudden appearance before their town, and their rulers 
came out and prostrated themselves at the king s feet : 
"Dost thou desire it? it is life for us ; dost thou desire 
it? it is death; dost thou desire it? what thy heart 
chooseth, that do to us 1 " But the appeal to his clemency 
was in vain ; the alarm had been so great and the danger 
so pressing, that Assur-nazir-pal was pitiless. The town 
was handed over to the soldiery, all the treasure it 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Layard s sketch. 




STELE FEOM Alt BAN. 



26 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

contained was confiscated, and the women and children of 

the best families were made slaves ; some of the ringleaders 

paid the penalty of their revolt on the spot ; the rest, 

with Akhiababa, were carried away and flayed alive, some 

at Nineveh, some elsewhere. An Assyrian garrison was 

installed in the citadel, and an ordinary governor, Azilu 

by name, replaced the dynasty of native princes. The 

report of this terrible retribution induced the Laqi 1 to 

tender their submission, and their example was followed 

by Khaian, king of Khindanu on the Euphrates. He 

bought off the Assyrians with gold, silver, lead, precious 

stones, deep-hued purple, and dromedaries ; he erected 

a statue of Assur-nazir-pal in the centre of his palace as 

a sign of his vassalage, and built into the wall near the 

gates of his town an inscription dedicated to the gods 

of the conqueror. Six, or at the most eight, months had 

sufficed to achieve these rapid successes over various foes, 

in twenty different directions the expeditions in Nummi 

and Kirruri, the occupation of Kurnrnukh, the flying 

marches across the mountains and plains of Mesopotamia 

during all of which the new sovereign had given ample 

proof of his genius. He had, in fine, shown himself to be 

a thorough soldier, a conqueror of the type of Tiglath- 

pileser, and Assyria by these victories had recovered her 

rightful rank among the nations of Western Asia. 

The second year of his reign was no less fully occupied, 
nor did it prove less successful than the first. At its very 

The Laqi were situated on both banks of the Euphrates, principally on 
the right bank, between the Khabur and the Balikh, interspersed among 
the Sukhi, of whom they were perhaps merely a dissentient fraction. 



SECOND CAMPAIGN IN NAIRI 27 

beginning, and even before the return of the favourable 
season, the Sukhi on the Euphrates made a public act 
of submission, and their chief, Ilubani, brought to Nineveh 
on their behalf a large sum of gold and silver. He had 
scarcely left the capital when the news of an untoward 
event effaced the good impression he had made. The 
descendants of the colonists, planted in bygone times by 
Shalmaneser I. on the western slope of the Masios, in the 
district of Klialzidipkha, had thrown off their allegiance, 
and their leader, Khulai, was besieging the royal fortress 
of Damdamusa. 1 Assur-nazir-pal marched direct to the 
sources of the Tigris, and the mere fact of his presence 
sufficed to prevent any rising in that quarter. He took 
advantage of the occasion to set up a stele beside those 
of his father Tukulti-ninip and his ancestor Tiglath-pileser, 
and then having halted to receive the tribute of Izalla, 2 

1 The position of Klialzidipkha or Khalzilukha, as well as that of Kina- 
bu, its stronghold, is shown approximately by what follows. Assur-nazir- 
pal, marching from the sources of the Supnat towards Tela, could pass 
either to the east or west of the Karajah-dagh ; as the end of the campaign 
finds him at Tushkhan, to the south of the Tigris, and he returns to JS T airi 
and Kirkhi by the eastern side of the Karajah-dagh, we are led to conclude 
that the outgoing march to Tela was by the western side, through the 
country situated between the Karajah-dagh and the Euphrates. On 
referring to a modern map, two rather important places will be found in this 
locality : the first, Arghana, commanding the road from Diarbekir to Khar- 
put ; the other, Severek, on the route from Diarbekir to Orfah. Arghana 
appears to me to correspond to the royal city of Damdamusa, which would 
thus have protected the approach to the plain on the north-west. Severek 
corresponds fairly well to the position which, according to the Assyrian text, 
Kinabu must have occupied ; hence the country of Khalzidipkha (Khalzi- 
lukha) must be the district of Severek. 

2 Izalla, written also Izala, Azala, paid its tribute in sheep and oxen, 
and also produced a wine for which it continued to be celebrated down 



ZS ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

he turned southwards, and took up a position on the slopes 
of the Kashiari. At the first news of his approach, Khulai 
had raised the blockade of Damdamusa and had entrenched 
himself in Kinabu; the Assyrians, however, carried the 
place by storm, and six hundred soldiers of the garrison 
were killed in the attack. The survivors, to the number 
of three thousand, together with many women and children, 
were thrown into the flames. The people of Mariru 
hastened to the rescue ; l the Assyrians took three hundred 
of them prisoners and burnt them alive ; fifty others were 
ripped up, but the victors did not stop to reduce their 
town. The district of Nirbu was next subjected to 
systematic ravaging, and half of its inhabitants fled into 
the Mesopotamian desert, while the remainder sought 
refuge in Tela at the foot of the Ukhira. 2 The latter place 
was a strong one, being surrounded by three enclosing 
walls, and it offered an obstinate resistance. Notwith 
standing this, it at length fell, after having lost three 

to the time of Nebuchadrezzar II. Lenormant and Finzi place this country 
near to Nisibis, where the Byzantine and Syrian writers mention a district 
and a mountain of the same name, and this conjecture is borne out by the 
passages of the Annals of Assur-nazir-pal which place ifc in the vicinity of 
Bit-Adini and Bit-Bakhiani. It has also been adopted by most of the 
historians who have recently studied the question. 

The site of Mariru is unknown ; according to the text of the Annals, 
it ought to lie near Severek (Kinabu) to the south-east, since after having 
mentioned it, Assur-nazir-pal speaks of the people of Nirbu whom he engaged 
in the desert before marching against Tela. 

2 Tila or Tela is the Tela Antoninopolis of the writers of the Roman 
period and the present Veranshehr. The district of Nirbu, of which it was 
the capital, lay on the southern slope of the Karajah-dagh at the foot of 
Mount Urkhira, the central group of the range. The name Kashiari is 
applied to the whole mountain group which separates the basins of the 
Tigris and Euphrates to the south and south-west. 



TORTURES INFLICTED ON THE GARRISON 29 

thousand of its defenders : some of its garrison were 
condemned to the stake, some had their hands, noses, or 
ears cut off, others were deprived of sight, flayed alive, 
or impaled amid the smoking ruins. This being deemed 
insufficient punishment, the conqueror degraded the place 
from its rank of chief town, transferring this, together with 
its other privileges, to a neighbouring city, Tushkhan, 
which had belonged to the Assyrians from the beginning 
of their conquests. 1 The king enlarged the place, added 
to it a strong enclosing wall, and installed within it the 
survivors of the older colonists who had been dispersed 
by the war, the majority of whom had taken refuge in 
Shupria. 2 He constructed a palace there, built storehouses 
for the reception of the grain of the province ; and, in 
short, transformed the town into a stronghold of the first 

1 From this passage we learn that Tushkhan, also called Tushkha, was 
situated on the border of Nirbu, while from another passage in the cam 
paign of the V th year we find that it was on the right bank of the Tigris. 
Following H. Rawlinson, I place it at Kurkh, near the Tigris, to the east of 
Diarbekir. The existence in that locality of an inscription of Assur-nazir- 
pal appears to prove the correctness of this identification ; we are aware, in 
fact, of the particular favour in which this prince held Tushkhan, for he 
speaks with pride of the buildings with which he embellished it. Hommel, 
however, identifies Kurkh with the town of Matiate, of which mention is 
made further on. 

2 Shupria or Shupri, a name which has been read Ruri, had been brought 
into submission from the time of Shalmaneser I. "We gather from the 
passages in which it is mentioned, that it was a hilly country, producing 
wine, rich in flocks, and lying at a short distance from Tushkhan ; per 
haps Mariru, mentioned on p. 28, was one of its towns. I think we may 
safely place it on the north-western slopes of the Kashiari, in the modern 
caza of Tchernik, which possesses several vineyards held in high estimation. 
Knudtzon, to whom we are indebted for the reading of this name, places the 
country rather further north, within the fork formed by the two upper 
branches of the Tigris. 



30 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

order, capable of serving as a base of operations for his 
armies. The surrounding princes, in the meanwhile, 
rallied round him, including Ammibaal of Bit-Zamani, and 
the rulers of Shupria, Nairi, and Urumi ; : the chiefs of 
Eastern Nirbu alone held aloof, emboldened by the rugged 
nature of their mountains and the density of their forests. 
Assur-nazir-pal attacked them on his return journey, dis 
lodged them from the fortress of Ishpilibria where they 
were entrenched, gained the pass of Buliani, and emerged 
into the valley of Luqia. 2 At Ardupa a brief halt was 
made to receive the ambassadors of one of the Hittite 
sovereigns and others from the kings of Khanigalbat, 
after which he returned to Nineveh, where he spent the 
winter. As a matter of fact, these were but petty wars, 
and their immediate results appear at the first glance quite 
inadequate to account for the contemporary enthusiasm 

1 The position of Bit-Zamani on the banks of the Euphrates was 
determined by Delattre. Urumi was situated on the right bank of the same 
river in the neighbourhood of Sumeisat, and the name has survived in that 
of Urima, a town in the vicinity so called even as late as Roman times. 
Nirdun, with Madara as its capital, occupied part of the eastern slopes of 
the Kashiari towards Ortaveran. 

2 Hommel identifies the Luqia with the northern affluent of the 
Euphrates called on the ancient monuments Lykos, and he places the scene 
of the war in Armenia. The context obliges us to look for this river to the 
south of the Tigris, to the north-east and to the east of the Kashiari. The 
king coming from Nirbu, the pass of Buliani, in which he finds the towns of 
Kirkhi, must be the valley of Khaneki, in which the road winds from Mardin 
to Diarbekir, and the Luqia is probably the most important stream in this 
region, the Sheikhan-Su, which waters Savur, chief town of the caza of 
Avineh. Ardupa must have been situated near, or on the actual site of, the 
present Mardin, whose Assyrian name is unknown to us ; it was at all 
events a military station on the road to Nineveh, along which the king 
returned victorious with the spoil. 



THIRD CAMPAIGN IN NAIRI 31 



they excited. The sincerity of it can be better understood 
when we consider the miserable state of the country 
twenty years previously. Assyria then comprised two 
territories, one in the plains of the middle, the other in 
the districts of the upper, Tigris, both of considerable 
extent, but almost without regular intercommunication. 
Caravans or isolated messengers might pass with tolerable 
safety from Assur and Nineveh to Singar, or even to 
Nisibis ; but beyond these places they had to brave the 
narrow defiles and steep paths in the forests of the Masios, 
through which it was rash to venture without keeping 
eye and ear ever on the alert. The mountaineers and 
their chiefs recognized the nominal suzerainty of Assyria, 
but refused to act upon this recognition unless constrained 
by a strong hand ; if this control were relaxed they levied 
contributions on, or massacred, all who came within their 
reach, and the king himself never travelled from his own 
city of Nineveh to his own town of Amidi unless accom 
panied by an army. In less than the short space of three 
years, Assur-nazir-pal had remedied this evil. By the 
slaughter of some two hundred men in one place, three 
hundred in another, two or three thousand in a third, 
by dint of impaling and flaying refractory sheikhs, burn 
ing villages and dismantling strongholds, he forced the 
marauders of Nairi and Kirkhi to respect his frontiers 
and desist from pillaging his country. The two divisions 
of his kingdom, strengthened by the military colonies in 
Nirbu, were united, and became welded together into a 
compact whole from the banks of the Lower Zab to the 
sources of the Khabur and the Supnat. 



32 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

During the following season the course of events 
diverted the king s efforts into quite an opposite direction 
(B.C. 882). Under the name of Zamua there existed a 
number of small states scattered along the western slope 
of the Iranian Plateau north of the Coss^ans. 1 Many 
of them as, for instance, the Lullume had been civilized 
by the Chaldasans almost from time immemorial ; the most 
southern among them were perpetually oscillating between 
the respective areas of influence of Babylon and Nineveh, 
according as one or other of these cities was in the 
ascendant, but at this particular moment they acknow 
ledged Assyrian sway. Were they excited to rebellion 
against the latter power by the emissaries of its rival, or 
did they merely think that Assur-nazir-pal was too fully 
absorbed in the affairs of Nairi to be able to carry his arms 
effectively elsewhere ? At all events they coalesced under 
Nurramman, the sheikh of Dagara, blocked the pass of 
Babiti which led to their own territory, and there massed 
their contingents behind the shelter of hastily erected 
ramparts. 2 Assur-nazir-pal concentrated his army at 

1 According to Hommel and Tiele, Zamua would be the country extend 
ing from the sources of the Radanu to the southern shores of the lake of 
Urumiah ; Schroder believes it to have occupied a smaller area, and places 
it to the east and south-west of the lesser Zab. Delattre has shown that a 
distinction must be made between Zamua on Lake Van and the well-known 
Zamua upon the Zab. Zamua, as described by Assur-nazir-pal, answers 
approximately to the present sandjak of Suleimaniyeh in the vilayet of 
Mossul. 

2 Hommel believes that Assur-nazir-pal crossed the Zab near Altin- 
keupru, and he is certainly correct : but it appears to me from a passage in 
the Annals, that instead of taking the road which leads to Bagdad by Kor- 
kuk and Tuz-Khurmati, he marched along that which leads eastwards in the 
direction of Suleimaniyeh. The pass of P>abiti must have lain between 



ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL IN ZAMUA 



33 



Kakzi, 1 a little to the south of Arbela, and promptly 
marched against them ; he swept all obstacles before him, 
killed fourteen hundred and sixty men at the first 
onslaught, put Dagara to fire and sword, and soon defeated 
Nurrainman, but without effecting his capture. As the 
campaign threatened to be prolonged, he formed an 



THE CAMPAIGNS 
orASSUR-NAZIR-PAL 
IN ZAMUA. 




entrenched camp in a favourable position, and stationed 
in it some of his troops to guard the booty, while he 
dispersed the rest to pillage the country on all sides. 
One expedition led him to the mountain group of Nizir, 
at the end of the chain known to the people of Lullume 

Gawardis and Biban, facing the Kisse tchai, which forms the western branch 
of the Radanu. Dagara would thus be represented by the district to the 
east of Kerkuk at the foot of the Kara-dagh. 

L Kakzi, sometimes read Kalzi, must have been situated at Shemamek or 
Shamamik, near Hazeh, to the south-west of Erbil, the ancient Arbela, at 
the spot where Jones noticed important Assyrian ruins excavated by 
Layard. 

VOL. VII. D 



34 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

as the Kirdpa. 1 He there reduced to ruins seven towns 
whose inhabitants had barricaded themselves in urgent 
haste, collected the few herds of cattle he could find, 
and driving them back to the camp, set out afresh towards 
a part of Nizir as yet unsubdued by any conqueror. The 
stronghold of Larbusa fell before the battering-ram, to be 
followed shortly by the capture of Bara. Thereupon the 
chiefs of Zamua, convinced of their helplessness, purchased 
the king s departure by presents of horses, gold, silver, 
and corn. 2 Nurramman alone remained impregnable in 
his retreat at Nishpi, and an attempt to oust him resulted 
solely in the surrender of the fortress of Birutu. 3 The 
campaign, far from having been decisive, had to be con 
tinued during the winter in another direction where revolts 
had taken place, in Khuduu, in Kissirtu, and in the fief 
of Arashtua, 4 all three of which extended over the upper 
valleys of the lesser Zab, the Kadanu, the Turnat, and 

1 Mount Kinipa is a part of Nizir, the Khalkhalan-dagh, if we may 
judge from the direction of the Assyrian campaign. 

2 None of these places can be identified with certainty. The gist of the 
account leads us to gather that Bara was situated to the east of Dagara, and 
formed its frontier ; we shall not be far wrong in looking for all these 
districts in the fastnesses of the Kara-dagh, in the caza of Suleimaniyeh. 
Mount Nishpi is perhaps the Segirme-dagh of the present day. 

3 The Assyrian compiler appears to have made use of two slightly differ 
ing accounts of this campaign ; he has twice repeated the same facts without 
noticing his mistake. 

4 The fief of Arashtua, situated beyond the Turnat, is probably the 
district of Suleimaniyeh ; it is, indeed, at this place only that the upper 
course of the Turnat is sufficiently near to that of the Radanu to make the 
marches of Assur-nazir-pal in the direction indicated by the Assyrian scribe 
possible. According to the account of the Annals, it seems to me that we 
must seek for Khudun and Kissirtu to the south of the fief of Arashtua, in 
the modern cazas of Gulanbar or Shehrizor. 



ZAMUA REDUCED TO A PROVINCE 35 

their affluents. The king once more set out from Kakzi, 
crossed the Zab and the Eadanu, through the gorges of 
Babiti, and halting on the ridges of Mount Simaki, 
peremptorily demanded tribute from Dagara. 1 This was, 
however, merely a ruse to deceive the enemy, for taking 
one evening the lightest of his chariots and the best of 
his horsemen, he galloped all night without drawing rein, 
crossed the Turnat at dawn, and pushing straight forward, 
arrived in the afternoon of the same day before the walls 
of Ammali, in the very heart of the fief of Arashtua. 2 
The town vainly attempted a defence ; the whole popula 
tion was reduced to slavery or dispersed in the forests, 
the ramparts were demolished, and the houses reduced 
to ashes. Khudun with twenty, and Kissirtu with ten 
of its villages, Bara, Kirtiara, Dur-Lullume, and Bunisa, 
offered no further resistance, and the invading host halted 
within sight of the defiles of Khashmar. 3 One kinglet, 
however, Amika of Zamru, showed no intention of 
capitulating. Entrenched behind a screen of forests and 
frowning mountain ridges, he fearlessly awaited the 

The Annals of Assur-nazir-pal go on to mention that Mount Simaki 
extended as far as the Turnat, and that it was close to Mount Azira. This 
passage, when compared with that in which the opening of the campaign is 
described, obliges us to recognise in Mounts Simaki and Azira two parts of 
the Shehrizor chain, parallel to the Seguirme-dagh. The fortress of Mizu, 
mentioned in the first of these two texts, may perhaps be the present Guran- 
kaleh., 

2 Hommel thinks that Ammali is perhaps the present Suleimaniyeh ; it 
is, at all events, on this side that we must look for its site. 

} I do not know whether we may trace the name of the ancient Mount 
Khashmar-Khashmir in the present Azmir-dagh ; it is at its feet, probably 
in the valley of Suleimanabad, that we ought to place the passes of Khash 
mar. 



36 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

attack. The only access to the remote villages over 
which he ruled, was by a few rough roads hemmed in 
between steep cliffs and beds of torrents ; difficult and 
dangerous at ordinary times, they were blocked in 
war by temporary barricades, and dominated at every 
turn by some fortress perched at a dizzy height above 
them. After his return to the camp, where his soldiers 
were allowed a short respite, Assur-nazir-pal set out against 
Zamru, though he . was caref ul not to approach it directly 
and attack it at its most formidable points. Between two 
peaks of the Lara and Bidirgi ranges he discovered a path 
which had been deemed impracticable for horses, or even 
for heavily armed men. By this route, the king, un 
suspected by the enemy, made his way through the 
mountains, and descended so unexpectedly upon Zamru, 
that Amika had barely time to make his escape, abandoning 
everything in his alarm palace, treasures, harem, and 
even his chariot. 1 A body of Assyrians pursued him hotly 
beyond the fords of the Lallu, chasing him as far as Mount 
Itiui ; then, retracing their steps to headquarters, they 
at once set out on a fresh track, crossed the Idir, and 
proceeded to lay waste the plains of Ilaniu and Suani. 2 

1 This raid, which started from the same point as the preceding one, ran 
eastwards in an opposite direction and ended at Mount Itini. Leaving the 
fief of Arashtua in the neighbourhood of Suleimaniyeh, Assur-nazir-pal 
crossed the chain of the Azmir-dagh near Pir-Omar and Gudrun, where we 
must place Mounts Lara and Bidirgi, and emerged upon Zamru ; the only 
places which appear to correspond to Zamru in that region are Kandishin 
and Suleimanabad. Hence the Lallu is the river which runs by Kandishin 
and Suleimanabad, and Itini the mountain which separates this river from 
the Tchami-Kizildjik. 

a I think we may recognise the ancient name of Ilaniu in that of Alan, 



FRUITS OF THE CONQUEST 



37 



Despairing of taking Amika prisoner, Assnr-nazir-pal 
allowed Mm to lie hidden among the brushwood of Mount 
Sabua, while he himself called a halt at Parsindu, 1 and 
set to work to organise the fruits of his conquest. He 




THE ZAB BELOW THE PASSES OF ALAN, THE ANCIENT ILANIU. 2 

placed garrisons in the principal towns at Parsindu, 
Zamru, and at Arakdi in Lullume, which one of his 

now borne by a district on the Tui kish and Persian frontier, situated 
between Kunekdji-dagh and the town of Serdesht. The expedition, coming 
from the fief of Arashtua, must have marched northwards : the Idir in this 
case must be the Tchami-Kizildjik, and Mount Sabua the chain of mountains 
above Serdesht. 

Parsindu, mentioned between Mount Ilaniu and the town of Zamru, 
ought to lie somewhere in the valley of Tchami-Kizildjik, near Murana. 
1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. de Morgan. 



38 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

predecessors bad re-named Tukulti-Ashshur-azbat, 1 -"I 
have taken the help of Assur." He next imposed on the 
surrounding country an annual tribute of gold, silver, 
lead, copper, dyed stuffs, oxen, sheep, and wine. Envoys 
from neighbouring kings poured in from Klmdun ; 
Khubushkia, and Gilza-u, and the whole of Northern 
Zamua bowed " before the splendour of his arms; it 
now needed only a few raids resolutely directed against 
Mounts Azira and Sirnaki, as far as the Turnat, to 
achieve the final pacification of the South. While in 
this neighbourhood, his attention was directed to the 
old town of AtllLv built by Sibir, 3 an ancient king of 
Karduniash, but which had been half ruined by the bar 
barians. He re-named it Dur-Assur, "the fortress of 
Assur," and built himself within it a palace and storehouses, 
in which he accumulated large quantities of corn, making 
the town the strongest bulwark of his power on the 
Cossean border. The two campaigns of B.C. 882 and 881 

1 The approximate site of Arakdi is indicated in the itinerary of Assur- 
nazir-pal itself ; the king comes from Zamru in the neighbourhood of Sulei- 
manabad, crosses Mount Lara, which is the northern part of the Azmir-dagh, 
and arrives at Arakdi, possibly somewhere in Surtash. In. the course of the 
preceding campaign, after having laid waste Bara, he set out from this same 
town (Arakdi) to subdue Nishpi, all of which bears out the position I have 
indicated. The present town of Bazian would answer fairly well for the site 
of a place destined to protect the Assyrian frontier on this side. 

2 Given its position on the Chaldaean frontier, Atlila is probably to be 
identified with the Kerkuk of the present day. 

3 Hommel is inclined to believe that Sibir was the immediate predecessor 
of Nabubaliddin, who reigned at Babylon at the same time as Assur-nazir- 
pal at Nineveh ; consequently he would be a contemporary of Ramman- 
nirari III. and of Tukulti-ninip II. Peiser and Rost have identified him 
with Simmash-shikhu. 



ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL S CAMPAIGN IN NAIRI 39 

had cost Assur-nazir-pal great efforts, and their results 
had been inadequate to the energy expended. His two 
principal adversaries, Nurramman and Amika, had eluded 
him, and still preserved their independence at the eastern 
extremities of their former states. Most of the mountain 
tribes had acknowledged the king s supremacy merely 
provisionally, in order to rid themselves of his presence ; 
they had been vanquished scores of times, but were in 
no sense subjugated, and the moment pressure was with 
drawn, they again took up arms. The districts of Zamua 
alone, which bordered on the Assyrian plain, and had 
been occupied by a military force, formed a province, 
a kind of buffer state between the mountain tribes 
and the plains of the Zab, protecting the latter from 
incursions. 

Assur-nazir-pal, feeling himself tolerably safe on that 
side, made no further demands, and withdrew his battalions 
to the westward part of his northern frontier. He hoped, 
no doubt, to complete the subjugation of the tribes who 
still contested the possession of various parts of the 
Kashiari, and then to push forward his main guard as 
far as the Euphrates and the Arzania, so as to form around 
the plain of Amidi a zone of vassals or tutelary subjects 
like those of Zamua. With this end in view, he crossed 
the Tigris near its source at the traditional fords, and 
made his way unmolested in the bend of the Euphrates 
from the palace of Tilluli, where the accustomed tribute 
of Kummukh was brought to him, to the fortress of 
Ishtarati, and from thence to Kibaki. The town of 
Matiate, having closed its gates against him, was at once 



40 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

sacked, and this example so stimulated the loyalty of the 
Kurkhi chiefs, that they hastened to welcome him at the 
neighbouring military station of Zazabukha. The king s 
progress continued thence as before, broken by frequent 
halts at the most favourable points for levying contribu 
tions on the inhabitants. 1 Assur-nazir-pal encountered no 
serious difficulty except on the northern slopes of the 
Kashiari, but there again fortune smiled on him ; all the 
contested positions were soon ceded to him, including even 
Madara, whose fourfold circuit of walls did not avail to 
save it from the conqueror. 2 After a brief respite at 
Tushkhan, he set out again one evening with his lightest 
chariots and the pick of his horsemen, crossed the Tigris 
on rafts, rode all night, and arrived unexpectedly the next 
morning before Pitura, the chief town of the Dirraeans. 3 
It was surrounded by a strong double enceinte, through 
which he broke after forty-eight hours of continuous 

1 It is difficult to place any of these localities on the map : they ought 
all to be found between the ford of the Tigris, at Diarbekir and the 
Euphrates, probably at the foot of the Mihrab-dagh and the Kirwantchemen- 
dagh. 

2 Madara belonged to a certain Lapturi, son of Tubusi, mentioned in the 
campaign of the king s second year. In comparing the facts given in the 
two passages, we see it was situated en the eastern slope of the Kashiari, 
not far from Tushkhan on one side, and Ardupa that is probably Mardin 
on the other. The position of Ortaveran, or of one of the " tells " in its 
neighbourhood, answers fairly well to these conditions. 

3 According to the details given in the Annals, we must place the town 
of Bitura (or Pitura) at about 19 miles from Kurkh, on the other side of 
the Tigris, in a north-easterly direction, and consequently the country of 
Dirra would be between the Hazu-tchai and the Batman-tchai. The Matni, 
with its passes leading in to Nairi, must in this case be the mountain group 
to the north of Mayafarrikin, known as the Dordoseh-dagh or the Darkosh- 
dagh. 



A RICH HARVEST OF SPOIL 41 

assault : 800 of its men perished in the breach, and 700 
others were impaled before the gates. Arbaki, at the 
extreme limits of Kirkhi, was the next to succumb, after 
which the Assyrians, having pillaged Dirra, carried the 
passes of Matni after a bloody combat, spread themselves 
over Nairi, burning 250 of its towns and villages, and 
returned with immense booty to Tushkhan. They had 
been there merely a few days when the news arrived that 
the people of Bit-Zamani, always impatient of the yoke, 
had murdered their prince Arnmibaal, and had proclaimed 
a certain Burramman in his place. Assur-nazir-pal marched 
upon Sinabu x and repressed the insurrection, reaping a rich 
harvest of spoil chariots fully equipped, 600 draught- 
horses, 130 pounds of silver and as much of gold, 6600 
pounds of lead and the same of copper, 19,800 pounds of 
iron, stuffs, furniture in gold and ivory, 2000 bulls, 500 
sheep, the entire harem of Ammibaal, besides a number 
of maidens of noble family together with their dresses. 
Burramman was by the king s order flayed alive, and 
Arteanu his brother chosen as his successor. Sinabu and 
the surrounding towns formed part of that network of 
colonies which in times past Shalmaneser I. had organised 
as a protection from the incursions of the inhabitants of 
Nairi ; Assur-nazir-pal now used it as a rallying- place for 
the remaining Assyrian families, to whom he distributed 
lands and confided the guardianship of the neighbouring 

1 Hommel thinks that Sinabu is very probably the same as the Kinabu 
mentioned above ; but it appears from Assur-nazir-pal s own account that 
this Kinabu was in the province of Khalzidipkha (Khalzilukha) on the 
Kashiari, whereas Sinabu was in Bit-Zamani. 



42 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

strongholds. The results of this measure were not long 
in making themselves felt : Shupria, Ulliba, and Nirbu, 
besides other districts, paid their dues to the king, and 
Shura in Khamanu, 1 which had for some time held out 
against the general movement, was at length constrained 
to submit (880 B.C.). However high we may rate the 
value of this campaign, it was eclipsed by the following 
one. The Aramaeans on the Khabur and the middle 
Euphrates had not witnessed without anxiety the revival 
of Ninevite activity, and had begged for assistance against 
it from its rival. Two of their principal tribes, the Sukhi 
and the Laqi, had addressed themselves to the sovereign 
then reigning at Babylon. He was a restless, ambitious 
prince, named Nabu-baliddin, who asked nothing better 
than to excite a hostile feeling against his neighbour, 
provided he ran no risk by his interference of being 
drawn into open warfare. He accordingly despatched to 
the Prince of Sukhi the best of his Cossaean troops, com 
manded by his brother Zabdanu and one of the great 
officers of the crown, Bel-baliddin. In the spring of 879 
B.C., Assur-nazir-pal determined once for all to put an end 
to these intrigues. He began by inspecting the citadels 
flanking the line of the Kharmish 2 and the Khabur, 

1 Shur is mentioned on the return to Nairi, possibly on the road leading 
from Amidi and Tushkhan to Nineveh. Hommel believes that the country 
of Khamanu was the Amanos in Cilicia, and he admits, but unwillingly, that 
Assur-nazir-pal made a detour beyond the Euphrates. I should look for 
Shura, and consequently for Khamanu, in the Tur-Abdin, and should 
identify them with Saur, in spite of the difference of the two initial articula 
tions. 

2 The Kharmish has been identified with the Hirmas, the river flowing 
by Nisibis, and now called the Nahr-Jaghjagha. 



CAMPAIGN ON THE EUPHRATES 43 

Tahiti, 1 Magarisi, 2 Shadikanni, Shuru in Blt-Khalupi, and 
Sirki. 3 Between the embouchures of the Khahur and the 
Balikh, the Euphrates winds across a vast table-land, 
ridged with marly hills ; the left bank is dry and sterile, 
shaded at rare intervals by sparse woods of poplars or 
groups of palms. The right bank, on the contrary, is 
seamed with fertile valleys, sufficiently well watered to 
permit the growth of cereals and the raising of cattle. 
The river-bed is almost everywhere wide, but strewn with 
dangerous rocks and sandbanks which render navigation 
perilous. On nearing the ruins of Halebiyeh, the river 
narrows as it enters the Arabian hills, and cuts for itself 
a regular defile of three or four hundred paces in length, 
which is approached by the pilots with caution. 4 Assur- 
nazir-pal, on leaving Sirki, made his way along the left 
bank, levying toll on Supri, Naqarabani, and several other 
villages in his course. Here and there he called a halt 
facing some town on the opposite bank, but the boats 
which could have put him across had been removed, and 
the fords were too well guarded to permit of his hazarding 
an attack. One town, however, Khindanu, made him a 

1 Tahiti is the Thebeta (Thebet) of Roman itineraries and Syrian writers, 
situated 33 miles from Nisibis and 52 from Singara, on the Nahr-Hesawy or 
one of the neighbouring wadys. 

2 Magarisi ought to be found on the present Nahr-Jaghjagha, near its 
confluence with the Nahr-Jerrahi and its tributaries ; unfortunately, this 
part of Mesopotamia is still almost entirely unexplored, and no satisfactory 
map of it exists as yet. 

3 Sirki is Circesium at the mouth of the Khabur. 

It is at this defile of El-Hammeh, and not at that of Birejik at the 
end of the Taurus, that we must place the Khinqi sha Purati -the narrows 
of the Euphrates so often mentioned in the account of this campaign. 



44: ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

voluntary offering which he affected to regard as a tribute, 
but Kharidi and Anat appeared not even to suspect his 
presence in their vicinity, and he continued on his way 



THE CAMPAIGNS 

opASSUR- NAZIR-PAL 

IN MESOPOTAMIA. 




without having obtained from them anything which could 
be construed into a mark of vassalage. 1 At length, on 

1 The detailed narrative of the Annals informs us that Assur-nazir-pal 
encamped on a mountain between Khindanu and Bit-Shabaia, and this 
information enables us to determine on the map with tolerable certainty the 
localities mentioned in this campaign. The mountain in question can be 
none other than El-Hammeh, the only one met with on this bank of the 
Euphrates between the confluents of the Euphrates and the Khabur. Khin 
danu is therefore identical with the ruins of Tabus, the Dabausa of Ptolemy ; 
hence Supri and Naqabarani are situated between this point and Sirki, the 
former in the direction of Tayebeh, the latter towards El-Hoseiniyeh. On 
the other hand, the ruins of Kabr Abu-Atish would correspond very well to 
Bit-Shabaia : is the name of Abu-Sbe borne by the Arabs of that neighbour 
hood a relic of that of Shabaia? Kharidi ought in that case to be looked 
for on the opposite bank, near Abu-Suban and Aksubi, where Chesney points 



CAMPAIGN ON THE EUPHRATES 45 

reaching Shuru, Shadadu, the Prince of Sukhi, trusting 
in his Cossa3ans, offered him battle ; but he was defeated 
by Assur-nazir-pal, who captured the King of Babylon s 
brother, forced his way into the town after an assault 
lasting two days, and returned to Assyria laden with 
spoil. This might almost be considered as a repulse ; for 
no sooner had the king quitted the country than the 
AramaBans in their turn crossed the Euphrates and ravaged 
the plains of the Khabur. 1 Assur-nazir-pal resolved not 
to return until he was in a position to carry his arms into 
the heart of the enemy s country. He built a flotilla at 
Shuru. in Bit-Khalupi on which he embarked his troops. 
Wherever the navigation of the Euphrates proved to be 
difficult, the boats were drawn up out of the water and 
dragged along the banks over rollers until they could 
again be safely launched; thus, partly afloat and partly 
on land, they passed through the gorge of Halebiyeh, 
landed at Kharidi, and inflicted a salutary punishment on 
the cities which had defied the king s wrath on his last 
expedition. Khindanu, Kharidi, and Kipina were reduced 
to ruins, and the Sukhi and the Laqi defeated, the 
Assyrians pursuing them for two days in the Bisuru 
mountains as far as the frontiers of Bit-Adini. 2 A complete 

out ancient remains. A day s march beyond Kabr Abu-Atish brings us to 
El-Khass, so that the town of Anat would be in the Isle of Moglah. Shuru 
must be somewhere near one of the two Tell-Menakhirs on this side the 
Balikh. 

1 The Annals do not give us either the limmu or the date of the year for 
this new expedition. The facts taken altogether prove that it was a con 
tinuation of the preceding one, and it may therefore be placed in the year 
B.C. 878. 

2 The campaign of B.C. 878 had for its arena that of the Euphrates which 



46 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

submission was brought about, and its permanency secured 
by the erection of two strongholds, one of which, Kar- 
assur-nazir-pal, commanded the left, and the other, 
Nibarti-assur, the right bank of the Euphrates. 1 

This last expedition had brought the king into contact 
with the most important of the numerous Aramaean states 
congregated in the western region of Mesopotamia. This 
was Bit-Adini, which lay on both sides of the middle 
course of the Euphrates. 2 It included, on the right bank, 
to the north of Carchemish, between the hills on the Sajur 
and Araban-Su, a mountainous but fertile district, dotted 
over with towns and fortresses, the names of some of which 
have been preserved Pakarrukhbuni, Sursunu, Paripa, 
Dabigu, and Shitamrat. 3 Tul-Barsip, the capital, was 
situated on the left bank, commanding the fords of the 
modern Birejik, 4 and the whole of the territory between 

lies between the Khabur and the Balikh ; this time, however, the principal 
operations took place on the right bank. If Mount Bisuru is the Jebel- 
Bishri, the town of Kipina, which is mentioned between it and Kharidi, 
ought to be located between Maidan and Sabkha. 

1 The account in the Annals is confused, and contains perhaps some 
errors with regard to the facts. The site of the two towns is nowhere 
indicated, but a study of the map shows that the Assyrians could not become 
masters of the country without occupying the passes of the Euphrates ; I 
am inclined to think that Kar-assur-nazir-pal is El-Halebiyeh, and Nibarti- 
assur, Zalebiyeh, the Zenobia of Roman times. 

1 Bit-Adini appears to have occupied, on the right bank of the Euphrates, 
a part of the cazas of Ain-Tab, Rum-kaleh, and Birejik, that of Suruji, minus 
the nakhiyeh of Harran, the larger part of the cazas of Membij and of 
Rakkah, and part of the caza of Zor, the cazas being those represented on 
the maps of Vital Cuinet. 

3 None of these localities can be identified with certainty, except per 
haps Dabigu, a name we may trace in that of the modern village of Dehbek. 

4 Tul-Barsip has been identified with Birejik. 



THE SUBMISSION OF BIT-ADINI 47 

this latter and the Balikh acknowledged the rule of its 
princes, whose authority also extended eastwards as far 
as the basaltic plateau of Tul-Aba, in the Mesopotainian 
desert. To the south-east, Bit-Adini bordered upon the 
country of the Sukhi and the Laqi, 1 lying to the east of 
Assyria ; other principalities, mainly of Aramaean origin, 
formed its boundary to the north and north-west Shugab 
in the bend of the Euphrates, from Birejik to Samosata, 2 
Tul-Abni around Edessa, 3 the district of Harran, 4 Bit- 
Zamani, Izalla in the Tektek-dagh and on the Upper 
Khabur, and Bit-Bakhiani in the plain extending from the 
Khabur to the Kharmish. 5 Bit-Zamani had belonged to 
Assyria by right of conquest ever since the death of 
Ammibaal ; Izalla and Bit-Bakhiani had fulfilled their 
duties as vassals whenever Assur-nazir-pal had appeared 
in their neighbourhood ; Bit-Adini alone had remained 
independent, though its strength was more apparent than 

1 In his previous campaign Assur-nazir-pal had taken two towns of Bit- 
Adini, situated on the right bank of the Euphrates, at the eastern extremity 
of Mount Bisuru, near the frontier of the Laqi. 

2 The country of Shugab is mentioned between Birejik (Tul-Barsip) and 
Bit-Zamani, in one of the campaigns of Shalmaneser III., which obliges us 
to place it in the caza of Rum-kaleh ; the name has been read Sumu. 

3 Tul-Abni, which was at first sought for near the sources of the Tigris, 
has been placed in the Mesopotamian plain. The position which it occupies 
among the other names obliges us to put it near Bit-Adini and Bit Zamani : 
the only possible site that I can find for it is at Orfah, the Edessa of classical 
times. 

4 The country of Harran is nowhere mentioned as belonging either to 
Bit-Adini or to Tul-Abni : we must hence conclude that at this period it 
formed a little principality independent of those two states. 

5 The situation of Bit-Bakhiani is shown by the position which it occupies 
in the account of the campaign, and by the names associated with it in 
another passage of the Annals. 



48 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

real. The districts which it included had never been able 
to form a basis for a powerful state. If by chance some 
small kingdom arose within it, uniting under one authority 
the tribes scattered over the burning plain or along the 
river banks, the first conquering dynasty which sprang up 
in the neighbourhood would be sure to effect its downfall, 
and absorb it under its own leadership. As Mitani, saved 
by its remote position from bondage to Egypt, had not 
been able to escape from acknowledging the supremacy 
of the Khati, so Bit-Adini was destined to fall almost 
without a struggle under the yoke of the Assyrians. It 
was protected from their advance by the volcanic groups 
of the Uraa and Tul-Aba, which lay directly in the way 
of the main road from the marshes of the Khabur to the 
outskirts of Tul-Barsip. Assur-nazir-pal, who might have 
worked round this line of natural defence to the north 
through Nirbu, or to the south through his recently 
acquired province of Laqi, preferred to approach it in 
front ; he faced the desert, and, in spite of the drought, 
he invested the strongest citadel of Tul-Aba in the month 
of June, 877 B.C. The name of the place was Kaprabi, 
and its inhabitants believed it impregnable, clinging as it 
did to the mountain-side " like a cloud in the sky." x The 
king, however, soon demolished its walls by sapping and 
by the use of the ram, killed 800 of its garrison, burned 
its houses, and carried off 2400 men with their families, 

1 The name is commonly interpreted " Great Rock," and divided thus 
Kap-rabi. It may also be considered, like Kapridargila or Kapranisha, as 
being formed of Kapru and obi ; this latter element appears to exist in the 
ancient name of Telaba, Thallaba, now Tul-Aba. Kapr-abi might be a 
fortress of the province of Tul-Aba. 



A DECISIVE CAMPAIGN 49 

whom he installed in one of the suburbs of Calah. Akhuni, 
who was then reigning in Bit-Adini, had not anticipated 
that the invasion would reach his neighbourhood : he at 
once sent hostages and purchased peace by a tribute ; 
the Lord of Tul-Abni followed his example, and the 
dominion of Assyria was carried at a blow to the very 
frontier of the Khati. It was about two centuries before 
this that Assurirba had crossed these frontiers with his 
vanquished army, but the remembrance of his defeat had 
still remained fresh in the memory of the people, as a 
warning to the sovereign who should attempt the old 
hazardous enterprise, and repeat the exploits of Sargon 
of Agade or of Tiglath-pileser I. Assur-nazir-pal made 
careful preparations for this campaign, so decisive a one 
for his own prestige and for the future of the empire. 
He took with him not only all the Assyrian troops at his 
disposal, but requisitioned by the way the armies of his 
most recently acquired vassals, incorporating them with 
his own, not so much for the purpose of augmenting his 
power of action, as to leave no force in his rear when 
once he was engaged hand to hand with the Syrian legions. 
He left Calah in the latter days of April, 876 B.C., 1 re 
ceiving the customary taxes from Blt-Bakhiani, Izalla, and 
Bit-Adini, which comprised horses, silver, gold, copper, 
lead, precious stuffs, vessels of copper and furniture of 
ivory; having reached Tul-Barsip, he accepted the gifts 
offered by Tul-Abni, and crossing the Euphrates upon 

1 On the 8th lyyar, but without any indication of limmu, or any number 
of the year or of the campaign ; the date 876 B.C. is admitted by the 
majority of historians. 

VOL. VII. E 



50 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

rafts of inflated skins, he marched his columns against 
Carchemish. 

The political organisation of Northern Syria had 
remained entirely unaltered since the days when Tiglath- 

pileser made his 
first victorious 
inroad into the 
country. The 
Cilician empire 
which suc 
ceeded to the 
Assyrian if in 
deed it ever ex 
tended as far as 
some suppose 
did not last long 
enough to dis 
turb the balance 

of power among the various 
races occupying Syria : it had 
subjugated them for a time, 
but had not been able to break 
them up and reconstitute them. 
At the downfall of the Cilician 
Empire the small states were 
still intact, and occupied, as of 
old, the territory comprising the ancient Naharaim of the 
Egyptians, the plateau between the Orontes and the 
Euphrates, the forests and marshy lowlands of the Amanos, 
the southern slopes of Taurus, and the plains of Cilicia. 



CAMPAIGNS 

OFASSUR-NAZIR-PAL 
IN SYRIA. 

IVv 




THE SYRIAN STATES 51 

Of these states, the most famous, though not then the 
most redoubtable, was that with which the name of the 
Khati is indissolubly connected, and which had Carchemish 
as its capital. This ancient city, seated on the banks 
of the Euphrates, still maintained its supremacy there, 
but though its wealth and religious ascendency were 
undimiuished, its territory had been curtailed. The people 
of Bifc-Adini had intruded themselves between this state 
and Kummukh, Arazik hemmed it in on the south, 
Khazazu and Khalman confined it on the west, so that 
its sway was only freely exercised in the basin of the 
Sajur. On the north-west frontier of the Khati lay 
Gurgum, whose princes resided at Marqasi and ruled 
over the central valley of the Pyramos together with 
the entire basin of the Ak-su. Mikhri, 1 laudi, and 
Sarnalla lay on the banks of the Samara, and in the forests 
of the Amanos to the south of Gurgurn. Kui maintained 
its uneventful existence amid the pastures of Cilicia, near 
the marshes at the mouth of the Pyramos. To the south 
of the Sajur, Bit-Agusi 2 barred the way to the Orontes ; 
and from their lofty fastness of Arpad, its chiefs kept watch 
over the caravan road, and closed or opened it at their 
will. They held the key of Syria, and though their 
territory was small in extent, their position was so strong 
that for more than a century and a half the majority of 

1 Mikhri or Ismikhri, i.e. "the country of larches," was the name of a 
part of the Amanos, possibly near the Pyramos. 

2 The real name of the country was lakhanu, but it was called Bit-Gusi 
or Bit-Agusi, like Bit-Adini, Bit-Bakhiani, Bit-Omri, after the founder of 
the reigning dynasty. We must place lakhanu to the south of Azaz, in the 
neighbourhood of Arpad, with this town as its capital. 



52 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the Assyrian generals preferred to avoid this stronghold 
by making a detour to the west, rather than pass beneath 
its walls. Scattered over the plateau on the borders of 
Agusi, or hidden in the valleys of Amanos, were several 
less important principalities, most of them owing allegiance 
to Lubarna, at that time king of the Patina and the most 
powerful sovereign of the district. The Patina had 
apparently replaced the Alasia of Egyptian times, as 




BAS-RELIEF FE03I A BUILDING AT SIJfJlHLI. 1 

Bit-Adini had superseded Mitani ; the fertile meadow- 
lands to the south of Samalla on the Afrln and the Lower 
Orontes, together with the mountainous district between 
the Orontes and the sea as far as the neighbourhood of 
Eleutheros, also belonged to the Patina. On the southern 
frontier of the Patina lay the important Phoenician cities, 
Arvad, Arka, and Sina ; and on the south-east, the 
fortresses belonging to Hamath and Damascus. The 
characteristics of the country remained unchanged. 
Fortified towns abounded on all sides, as well as large 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch by Perrot and Chipiez. 






MANNERS AXD CUSTOMS 



53 



walled villages of conical huts, like those whose strange 
outlines on the horizon are familiar to the traveller at 
the present day. The manners and civilisation of Chalda?a 
pervaded even more than formerly the petty courts, but 
the artists clung persistently to Asianic tradition, and the 
bas-reliefs which adorned the palaces and temples were 







JIBRIX, A VILLAGE OF COXICAL HUTS, OX THE PLATEAU OF ALEPPO. 1 

similar in character to those we find scattered throughout 
Asia Minor ; there is the same inaccurate drawing, the 
same rough execution, the same tentative and awkward 
composition. The scribes from force of custom still 
employed the cuneiform syllabary in certain official 
religious or royal inscriptions, but, as it was difficult to 
manipulate and limited in application, the speech of the 
Aramaean immigrants and the Phoenician alphabet gradually 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph reproduced in Peters. 



54 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

superseded the ancient language and mode of writing. 1 
Thus these Northern Syrians became by degrees assimilated 




THE WAR-CHARIOT OF THE KEIATI OF THE MXTH OBHTCBY. 

to the people of Babylon and Nineveh, much as the 

1 There is no monument bearing an inscription in this alphabet which 
can be referred with any certainty to the time of Assur-nazir-pal, but the 
inscriptions of the kings of Samalla date back to a period not more than a 
century and a half later than his reign; we may therefore consider 
Aramaean alphabet as being in current use in Northern Syria at the begin 
ning of the ninth century, some forty years before the date of Mesh 
inscription (i.e. the Moabite stone). 

2 Drawn by Boudier, from a bas-relief. 



SYRIAN ARTS, ARMIES, AND RELIGIONS 



55 



inhabitants of a remote province nowadays adapt their 
dress, their architecture, their implements of husbandry 
and handicraft, their military equipment and organisation, 
to the fashions of the capital. 1 Their armies were modelled 
on similar lines, and consisted of archers, pikemen, slingers, 




THE ASSYRIAN WAK-CHABIOT OF THE NINTH CENTURY B.C. 2 

and those troops of horsemen which accompanied the 
chariotry on flying raids ; the chariots, moreover, closely 
followed the Assyrian type, even down to the padded bar 
with embroidered hangings which connected the body of 
the chariot with the end of the pole. The Syrian princes 

* 

1 One can judge of their social condition from the enumeration of the 
objects which formed their tribute, or the spoil which the Assyrian kings 
carried off from their country. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bronze bas-relief on the gates of 
Balawat. 



56 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

did not adopt the tiara, but they wore the long fringed 
robe, confined by a girdle at the waist, and their mode 
of life, with its ceremonies, duties, and recreations, differed 
little from that prevailing in the palaces of Calah or 
Babylon. They hunted big game, including the lion, 
according to the laws of the chase recognised at Nineveh, 
priding themselves as much on their exploits in hunting, 




A KING OF THE KIIATI HUNTING A LION IN HIS CHARIOT. 1 

as on their triumphs in war. Their religion was derived 
from the common source which underlay all Semitic 
religions, but a considerable number of Babylonian deities 
were also worshipped ; these had been introduced in some 
cases without any modification, whilst in others they had 
been assimilated to more ancient gods bearing similar 
characteristics : at Nerab, among the Patina, Nusku and 
his female companion Nikal, both of Chaldaean origin, 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Hogarth, published in the 
Recueil de Travaux. 



ASSIR-NAZIR-PAL S EXPEDITION 



57 



claimed the homage of the faithful, to the disparagement 
of Shahr the moon and Sharnash the sun. Local cults 
often centred round obscure deities held in little account 
by the dominant races ; thus Samalla reverenced Uru the 
light, Eekubel the wind, the chariot of 
El, not to mention El himself, Eesheph, 
Hadad, and the Cabiri, the servants of 
Eesheph. These deities were mostly of 
the Assyrian type, and if one may draw 
any conclusion from the few representa 
tions of them already discovered, their 
rites must have been celebrated in a 
manner similar to that followed in the 
cities on the Lower Euphrates. Scarcely 
any signs of Egyptian influence survived, 
though here and there a trace of it 
might be seen in the figures of calf or 
bull, the vulture of Mut or the sparrow- 
hawk of Horus. Assur-nazir-pal, march 
ing from the banks of the Khabur to 
Bit-Adini, and from Bit-Adini passing 
on to Northern Syria, might almost 
have imagined himself still in his own 
dominions, so gradual and imperceptible 
were the changes in language and civilisation in the 
country traversed between Nineveh and Assur, Tul-Barsip 
and Samalla. 

His expedition was unattended by danger or bloodshed. 
Lubarna, the reigning prince of the Patina, was possibly at 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the photograph in Luschan. 




THE GOD HADA1). 1 



58 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

that juncture meditating the formation of a Syrian empire 
under his rule. Unki, in which lay his capital of Kunulua, 
was one of the richest countries of Asia, 1 being well watered 
by the Afrin, Orontes, and Saluara ; 2 no fields produced such 
rich harvests as his, no meadows pastured such cattle or 
were better suited to the breeding of war-horses. His 
mountaiD provinces yielded him wood and minerals, and 




RELIGIOUS SCENE DISPLAYING EGYPTIAN FEATURES. 1 

provided a reserve of semi-savage woodcutters and herds 
men from which to recruit his numerous battalions. The 
neighbouring princes, filled with uneasiness or jealousy by 
his good fortune, saw in the Assyrian monarch a friend and 

1 The Unki of the Assyrians, the Uniuqa of the Egyptians, is the valley 
of Antioch, the Amk of the present day. Kunulua or Kinalia, the capital of 
the Patina, has been identified with the Gindaros of Greek times ; I prefer 
to identify it with the existing Tell-Kunana, written for Tell-Kunala by the 
common substitution of n for I at the end of proper names. 

2 The Saluara of the Assyrian texts is the present Kara-su, which flows 
into the Ak-Deniz, the lake of Antioch. 

3 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the impression taken from a Hittite 
cylinder. 



SUBMISSION OF THE HITTITES AND THE PATINA 59 

a liberator rather than an enemy. Carchemish opened its 
gates and laid at his feet the best of its treasures twenty 
talents of silver, ingots, rings, and daggers of gold, a 
hundred talents of copper, two hundred talents of iron, 
bronze bulls, cups decorated with scenes in relief or outline, 
ivory in the tusk or curiously wrought, purple and em 
broidered stuffs, and the state carriage of its King Shangara. 
The Hittite troops, assembled in haste, joined forces with 
the Aramaean auxiliaries, and the united host advanced on 
Coale-Syria. The scribe commissioned to record the 
history of this expedition has taken a delight in inserting 
the most minute details. Leaving Carchemish, the army 
followed the great caravan route, and winding its way 
between the hills of Munzigani and Khamurga, skirting 
Bit-Agusi, at length arrived under the walls of Khazazu 
among the Patina. 1 The town having purchased immunity 
by a present of gold and of finely woven stuffs, the army 
proceeded to cross the Aprie, on the bank of which an en 
trenched camp was formed for the storage of the spoil. 
Lubarna offered no resistance, but nevertheless refused 
to acknowledge his inferiority ; after some delay, ib was 
decided to make a direct attack on his capital, Kunulua, 
whither he had retired. The appearance of the Assyrian 
vanguard put a speedy end to his ideas of resistance : 
prostrating himself before his powerful adversary, he offered 
hostages, and emptied his palaces and stables to provide a 

1 Khazazu being the present Azaz, the Assyrian army must have followed 
the route which still leads from Jerabis to this town. Mount Munzigani and 
Khamurga, mentioned between Carchemish and Akhanu or lakhanu, must 
lie between the Sajur and the Koweik, near Shehab, at the only point on. 
the route where the road passes between two ranges of lofty hills. 



60 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

ransom. This comprised twenty talents of silver, one 
talent of gold, a hundred talents of lead, a hundred talents 
of iron, a thousand bulls, ten thousand sheep, daughters of 
his nobles with befitting changes of garments, and all the 
paraphernalia of vessels, jewels, and costly stuffs which 
formed the necessary furniture .of a princely household. 
The effect of his submission on his own vassals and the 
neighbouring tribes was shown in different ways. Bit- 
Agusi at once sent messengers to congratulate the 
conqueror, but the mountain provinces awaited the in 
vader s nearer approach before following its example. 
Assur-nazir-pal, seeing that they did not take the initiative, 
crossed the Orontes, probably at the spot where the iron 
bridge now stands, and making his way through the 
country between laraku and laturi, 1 reached the banks of 
the Sangura 2 without encountering any difficulty. After a 

1 The spot where Assur-nazir-pal must have crossed the Orontes is deter 
mined by the respective positions of Kunulua and Tell-Kuiifma. At the iron 
bridge, the modern traveller has the choice of two roads: one, passing Antioch 
and Beit-el-Ma, leads to Urdeh on the Nahr-el-Kebir ; the other reaches the 
same point by a direct route over the Gebel Kosseir. If, as I believe, Assur- 
nazir-pal took the latter route, the country and Mount laraku must be the 
northern part of Gebel Kosseir in the neighbourhood of Antioch, and laturi, 
the southern part of the same mountain near Derkush. laraku is mentioned 
in the same position by Shalmaneser III., who reached it after crossing the 
Orontes, on descending from the Amanos en route for the country of Hamath. 

2 The Sangura or Sagura has been identified by Delattre with the Nahr- 
el-Kebir, not that river which the Greeks called the Eleutheros, but that 
which flows into the sea near Latakia. Before naming the Sangura, the 
Annals mention a country, whose name, half effaced, ended in -ku : I think 
we may safely restore this name as [Ashtamajkou, mentioned by Shal 
maneser III. in this region, after the name of laraku. The country of 
Ashtamaku would thus be the present canton of Urdeh, which is traversed 
before reaching the banks of the Nahr-el-Kebir. 



SACRIFICES TO THE GODS 61 

brief halt there in camp, he turned his back on the sea, and 
passing between Saratini and Duppani, 1 took by assault the 
fortress of Aribua. 2 This stronghold commanded all the 
surrounding country, and was the seat of a palace which 
Lubarna at times used as a similar residence. Here Assur- 
nazir-pal took up his quarters, and deposited within its 
walls the corn and spoils of Lukhuti ; 3 he established here 
an Assyrian colony, and, besides being the scene of royal 
festivities, it became henceforth the centre of operations 
against the mountain tribes. The forts of the latter were 
destroyed, their houses burned, and prisoners were impaled 
outside the gates of their cities. Having achieved this 
noble exploit, the king crossed the intervening spurs of 
Lebanon and marched down to the shores of the Mediter 
ranean. Here he bathed his weapons in the waters, and 
offered the customary sacrifices to the gods of the sea, 
while the Phoenicians, with their wonted prudence, hastened 
to anticipate his demands Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Mahallat, 

1 The mountain cantons of Saratini and Duppani (Kalpani ? Adpani ?), 
situated immediately to the south of the Nahr-el-Kebir, correspond to the 
southern part of Gebel-el-Akrad, but I cannot discover any names on the 
modern map at all resembling them. 

2 Beyond Duppani, Assur-nazir-pal encamped on the banks of a river 
whose name is unfortunately effaced, and then reached Aribua ; this itine 
rary leads us to the eastern slope of the Gebel Ansarieh in the latitude of 
Hamath. The only site I can find in this direction fulfilling the requirements 
of the text is that of Masiad, where there still exists a fort of the Assassins. 
The name Aribua is perhaps preserved in that of Rabao, er-Rabahu, which 
is applied to a wady and village in the neighbourhood of Masiad. 

3 Lukhuti must not be sought in the plains of the Orontes, where Assur- 
nazir-pal would have run the risk of an encounter with the King of Hamath 
or his vassals ; it must represent the part of the mountain of Ansarieh lying 
between Kadmus, Masiad, and Tortosa. 



62 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Maiza, Kaiza, the Amorites and Arvad, 1 all sending tribute. 
One point strikes us forcibly as we trace on the map the 
march of this victorious hero, namely, the care with which 
he confined himself to the left bank of the Orontes, and the 
restraint he exercised in leaving untouched the fertile fields 
of its valley, whose wealth was so calculated to excite his 
cupidity. This discretion would be inexplicable, did we not 
know that there existed in that region a formidable power 
which he may have thought it imprudent to provoke. It 
was Damascus which held sway over those territories whose 
frontiers he respected, and its kings, also suzerains of 
Hamath and masters of half Israel, were powerful enough 
to resist, if not conquer, any enemy who might present 
himself. The fear inspired by Damascus naturally explains 
the attitude adopted by the Hittite states towards the 
invader, and the precautions taken by the latter to restrict 
his operations within somewhat narrow limits. Having 
accepted the complimentary presents of the Phoenicians, 
the king again took his way northwards making a slight 
detour in order to ascend the Amanos for the purpose of 
erecting there a stele commemorating his exploits, and of 
cutting pines, cedars, and larches for his buildings and 
then returned to Nineveh amid the acclamations of his 
people. 

In reading the history of this campaign, its plan and 
the principal events which took place in it appear at 

1 The point where Assur-nazir-pal touched the sea-coast cannot be exactly 
determined : admitting that he set out from Masiad or its neighbourhood, 
he must have crossed the Lebanon by the gorge of the Eleutheros, and 
reached the sea-board somewhere near the mouth of this river. 



THE WISDOM OP ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL 63 

times to be the echo of what had happened some centuries 
before. The recapitulation of the halting-places near the 
sources of the Tigris and on the banks of the Upper 
Euphrates, the marches through the valleys of the Zagros 
or on the slopes of Kashiari, the crushing one by one of 
the Mesopotamian races, ending in a triumphal progress 
through Northern Syria, is almost a repetition, both as 
to the names and order of the places mentioned, of the 
expedition made by Tiglath-pileser in the first five years 
of his reign. The question may well arise in passing 
whether Assur-nazir-pal consciously modelled his campaign 
on that of his ancestor, as, in Egypt, Eamses III. imitated 
Ramses II., or whether, in similar circumstances, he in 
stinctively and naturally followed the same line of march. 
In either case, he certainly showed on all sides greater 
wisdom than his predecessor, and having attained the 
object of his ambition, avoided compromising his success 
by injudiciously attacking Damascus or Babylon, the two 
powers who alone could have offered effective resistance. 
The victory he had gained, in 879, over the brother of 
Nabu-baliddin had immensely flattered his vanity. His 
panegyrists vied with each other in depicting Karduniash 
bewildered by the terror of his majesty, and the Chaldaeans 
overwhelmed by the fear of his arms ; but he did not 
allow himself to be carried away by their extravagant 
flatteries, and continued to the end of his reign to observe 
the treaties concluded between the two courts in the time 
of his grandfather Ramman-nirari. 1 He had, however, 

1 His frontier on the Chaldsean side, between the Tigris and the 
mountains, was the boundary fixed by Ramman-nirari. 



64 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

sufficiently enlarged his dominions, in less than ten years, 
to justify some display of pride. He himself described his 
empire as extending, on the west of Assyria proper, from 
the banks of the Tigris near Nineveh to Lebanon and 
the Mediterranean ; l besides which, Sukhi was subject 
to him, and this included the province of Eapiku on the 
frontiers of Babylonia. 2 He had added to his older pro 
vinces of Amidi, Masios and Singar, the whole strip of 
Armenian territory at the foot of the Taurus range, 
from the sources of the Supnat to those of the Bitlis- 
tchai, and he held the passes leading to the banks of 
the Arzania, in Kirruri and Gilzan, while the extensive 
country of Nairi had sworn him allegiance. Towards 
the south-east the wavering tribes, which alternately gave 
their adherence to Assur or Babylon according to cir 
cumstances, had ranged themselves on his side, and 
formed a large frontier province beyond the borders 
of his hereditary kingdom, between the Lesser Zab and 
the Turnat. But, despite repeated blows inflicted on 
them, he had not succeeded in welding these various 
factors into a compact and homogeneous whole ; some 
small proportion of them were assimilated to Assyria, 

1 The expression employed in this description and in similar passages, 
ishtu ibirtan ndru, translated from the ford over the river, or better, from the 
other side of the river, must be understood as referring to Assyria proper : 
the territory subject to the king is measured in the direction indicated, 
starting from the rivers which formed the boundaries of his hereditary 
dominions. From the other bank of the Tigris means from the bank of the 
Tigris opposite Nineveh or Calah, whence the king and his army set out on 
their campaigns. 

2 Rapiku is mentioned in several texts as marking the frontier between 
the Sukhi and Chaldsea. 



PLEDGES OF LOYALTY 65 

and were governed directly by royal officials, 1 but the 
greater number were merely dependencies, more or less 
insecurely held by the obligations of vassalage or servitude. 
In some provinces the native chiefs were under the 
surveillance of Assyrian residents ; 2 these districts paid an 
annual tribute proportionate to the resources and products 
of their country : thus Kirruri and the neighbouring states 
contributed horses, mules, bulls, sheep, wine, and copper 
vessels ; the Aramaeans gold, silver, lead, copper, both 
wrought and in the ore, purple, and coloured or embroidered 
stuffs ; while Izalla, Nirbu, Nirdun, and Bit-Zamani had 
to furnish horses, chariots, metals, and cattle. The less 
civilised and more distant tribes were not, like these, 
subject to regular tribute, but each time the sovereign 
traversed their territory or approached within reasonable 
distance, their chiefs sent or brought to him valuable 
presents as fresh pledges of their loyalty. Boyal outposts, 
built at regular intervals and carefully fortified, secured 
the fulfilment of these obligations, and served as depots 
for storing the commodities collected by the royal officials ; 
such outposts were, Damdamusa on the north-west of the 
Kashiari range, Tushkhan on the Tigris, Tilluli between 
the Supnat and the Euphrates, Aribua among the Patina, 
and others scattered irregularly between the Greater and 
Lesser Zab, on the Khabur, and also in Nalri. These 
strongholds served as places of refuge for the residents 

There were royal governors in Suru in Bit*Khalupi, in Matiate, in 
Madara, and in ISTairi. 

There were Assyrian residents in Kirruri and the neighbouring 
countries, in Kirkhi, and in Nairi. 

VOL. VII. 



66 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

and their guards in case of a revolt, and as food- depots 
for the armies in the event of war bringing them into 
their neighbourhood. In addition to these, Assur-nazir-pal 
also strengthened the defences of Assyria proper by build 
ing fortresses at the points most open to attack; he re 
paired or completed the defences of Kaksi, to command 
the plain between the Greater and Lesser Zab and the 
Tigris ; he rebuilt the castles or towers which guarded the 
river-fords and the entrances to the valleys of the Gebel 
Makhlub, and erected at Calah the fortified palace which 
his successors continued to inhabit for the ensuing five 
hundred years. 

Assur-nazir-pal had resided at Nineveh from the time of 
his accession to the throne ; from thence he had set out on 
four successive campaigns, and thither he had returned at 
the head of his triumphant troops, there he had received 
the kings who came to pay him homage, and the governors 
who implored his help against foreign attacks ; thither he 
had sent rebel chiefs, and there, after they had marched in 
ignominy through the streets, he had put them to torture 
and to death before the eyes of the crowd, and their skins 
were perchance still hanging nailed to the battlements 
when he decided to change the seat of his capital. The 
ancient capital no longer suited his present state as a 
conqueror; the accommodation was too restricted, the 
decoration too poor, and probably the number of apart 
ments was insufficient to house the troops of women and 
slaves brought back from his wars by its royal master. 
Built on the very bank of the Tebilti, one of the tributaries 
of the Khusur, and hemmed in by three temples, there was 



ERECTION OP THE PALACE AT CALAH 



67 



no possibility of its enlargement a difficulty which often 
occurs in ancient cities. The necessary space for new 
buildings could only have been obtained by alteriog the 
course of the stream, and sacrificing a large part of the 
adjoining quarters of the city : Assur-nazir-pal therefore 
preferred to abandon the place and to select a new site 



-.-,* - \ flkVJV 



- *& J- ., " ""* 

iftrSj iT ** Ba!g; 5VW " 

- - 

. 




THE MOUXDS OF CALAH. 1 



where he would have ample space at his disposal. He 
found what he required close at hand in the half-ruined 
city of Calah, where many of his most illustrious 
predecessors had in times past sought refuge from the heat 
of Assur. It was now merely an obscure and sleepy town 
about twelve miles south of Nineveh, on the right bank of 
the Tigris, and almost at the angle made by the junction of 
this river with the Greater Zab. The place contained a 
palace built by Shalmaneser I., which, owing to many 

Drawn by Boudier, from Layard . The pointed mound on the left near 
the centre of the picture represents the ziggui-at of the great temple. 



68 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



years neglect, liad become uninhabitable. Assur-nazir-pal 
not only razed to the ground the palaces and temples, but 
also levelled the mound on which they had been built ; he 
then cleared away the soil down to the water level, and 

threw up an immense and al 
most rectangular terrace 011 
which to lay out his new build 
ings. The king chose Ninip, 
the god of war, as the patron of 

the city, and dedicated to 
.. 

him, at the north-west corner 
of the terrace, a ziggurat 

-\ with its usual temple pre 
cincts. Here the god 
was represented as a bull 
with a man s head and 

, : ,. bust in gilded alabaster, 
and two yearly feasts 
were instituted in his 
honour, one in the month 
Sebat, the other in the 
month Ulul. The zig- 
gurat was a little over 

STELE OF ASSUK-XAZIU-PAL AT CALAH. 1 

two hundred feet high, 

and was probably built in seven stages, of which only 
one now remains intact : around it are found several in 
dependent series of chambers and passages, which may have 
been parts of other temples, but it is now impossible 
to say which belonged to the local Belit, which to Sin, 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Mansell. 




ASSYRIAN ART IN THE NINTH CENTURY 69 

to Gula, to Eamman, or to the ancient deity Ea. At 
the entrance to the largest chamber, on a rectangular 
pedestal, stood a stele with rounded top, after the Egyptian 
fashion. On it is depicted a figure of the king, standing 
erect and facing to the left of the spectator ; he holds 
his mace at his side, his right hand is raised in the atti 
tude of adoration, and above him, on the left upper edge 
of the stele, are grouped the five signs of the planets ; at 
the base of the stele stands an altar with a triangular 
pedestal and circular slab ready for the offerings to be 
presented to the royal founder by priests or people. The 
palace extended along the south side of the terrace facing 
the town, and with the river in its rear; it covered a 
space one hundred and thirty-one yards in length and a 
hundred and nine in breadth. In the centre was a large 
court, surrounded by seven or eight spacious halls, appro 
priated to state functions ; between these and the court 
were many rooms of different sizes, forming the offices and 
private apartments of the royal house. The whole palace 
was built of brick faced with stone. Three gateways, 
flanked by winged, human-headed bulls, afforded access to 
the largest apartment, the hall of audience, where the king 
received his subjects or the envoys of foreign powers. 1 The 
doorways and walls of some of the rooms were decorated 
with glazed tiles, but the majority of them were covered 
with bands of coloured 2 bas-reliefs which portrayed various 

At the east end of the hall Layard found a block of alabaster covered 
with inscriptions, forming a sort of platform on which the king s throne may 
have stood. 

! Layard points out the traces of colouring still visible when the 
excavations were made. 



70 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

episodes in the life of the king his state-councils, his lion 
hunts, the reception of tribute, marches over mountains 
and rivers, chariot- skirmishes, sieges, and the torture and 
carrying away of captives. Incised in bands across these 
pictures are inscriptions extolling the omnipotence of Assur, 
while at intervals genii with eagles beaks, or deities in 
human form, imperious and fierce, appear with hands full of 




THE WINGED BULLS OF ASSUR-XAZIR-PAL.i 



offerings, or in the act of brandishing thunderbolts against 
evil spirits. The architect who designed this imposing 
decoration, and the sculptors who executed it, closely 
followed the traditions of ancient Chaldaea in the drawing 
and composition of their designs, and in the use of colour 
or chisel ; but the qualities and defects peculiar to their 
own race give a certain character of originality to this 
borrowed art. They exaggerated the stern and athletic 
aspect of their models, making the figure thick-set, the 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch by Layard. 



BRARY) 

/">) 

sc\ I 



INTERNAL DECORATION OF THE PALACE 



71 



muscles extraordinarily enlarged, and the features ludicrously 
accentuated. Their pictures produce an impression of 
awkwardness, confusion and heaviness, but the detail is 
so minute and the animation so great that the attention of 




GLAZED TILE FROil PALACE OF CALAH. 1 

the spectator is forcibly arrested ; these uncouth beings 
impress us with the sense of their self-reliance and their 
confidence in their master, as we watch them brandishing 
their weapons or hurrying to the attack, and see the shock 
of battle and the death-blows given and received. The 
human-headed bulls, standing on guard at the gates, exhibit 

1 Drawn by Boudier, after Layard. 



72 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the calm and pensive dignity befitting creatures conscious 
of their strength, while the lions passant who sometimes 
replace them, snarl and show their teeth with an almost 
alarming ferocity. The statues of men and gods, as a rule, 
are lacking in originality. The heavy robes which drape 
them from head to foot give them the appearance of 




LION FROM ASSUK- SAZIR-PAL S PALACE. 1 

cylinders tied in at the centre and slightly flattened 
towards the top. The head surmounting this shapeless 
bundle is the only life-like part, and even the lower half 
of this is rendered heavy by the hair and beard, whose 
tightly curled tresses lie in stiff rows one above the other. 
The upper part of the face which alone is visible is correctly 
drawn ; the expression is of rather a commonplace type of 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph of the sculpture in the British 
Museum. 



THE TUNNEL OF NEGUB 73 

nobility respectable but self-sufficient. The features- 
eyes, forehead, nose, mouth are all those of Assur-nazir- 
pal ; the hair is arranged in the fashion he affected, and the 
robe is embroidered with his jewels ; but amid all this we 
miss the keen intelligence always present in Egyptian 
sculpture, whether under the royal head-dress of Cheops or 
in the expectant eyes of the sitting scribe : the Assyrian 
sculptor could copy the general outline of his model fairly 
well, but could not infuse soul into the face of the conqueror, 
whose " countenance beamed above the destruction around 
him." 

The water of the Tigris being muddy, and unpleasant 
to the taste, and the wells at Calah so charged with lime 
and bitumen as to render them unwholesome, Assur-nazir- 
pal supplied the city with water from the neighbouring 
Zab. 1 An abundant stream was diverted from this river at 
the spot now called Negub, and conveyed at first by a 
tunnel excavated in the rock, and thence by an open canal 
to the foot of the great terrace : at this point the flow of 
the water was regulated by dams, and the surplus was 
utilised for irrigation 3 purposes by means of openings cut 
in the banks. The aqueduct was named Babilat-khigal 
the bringer of plenty and, to justify the epithet, date- 
palms, vines, and many kinds of fruit trees were planted 

The presence of bitumen in the waters of Calah is due to the hot springs 
which rise in the bed of the brook Shor-derreh. 

1 The canal of Negub Negub signifies liole in Arabic was discovered 
by Layard. The Zab having changed its course to the south, and scooped 
out a deeper bed for itself, the double arch, which serves as an entrance to 
the canal, is actually above the ordinary level of the river, and the water 
flows through it only in flood-time. 



74 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

along its course, so that both banks soon assumed the 
appearance of a shady orchard interspersed with small 
towns and villas. The population rapidly increased, partly 
through the spontaneous influx of Assyrians themselves, 
but still more through the repeated introduction of bands of 




A CORNER OF THE RUIXED PALACE OF ASSUR-XAZIR-PAL. 1 

foreign prisoners : forts, established at the fords of the 
Zab, or commanding the roads which cross the Gebel 
Makhlub, kept the country in subjection and formed an 
inner line of defence at a short distance from the capital. 
Assur-nazir-pal kept up a palace, garden, and small temple, 
near the fort of Imgur-Bel, the modern Balawat : thither 
he repaired for intervals of repose from state affairs, to 
enjoy the pleasures of the chase and cool air in the hot 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Rassam. 



THE LAST YEARS OF ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL 75 

season. He did not entirely abandon his other capitals, 
Nineveh and Assur, visiting them occasionally, but Calah 
was his favourite seat, and on its adornment he spent the 
greater part of his wealth and most of his leisure hours. 
Only once again did he abandon his peaceful pursuits 
and take the field, about the year 897 B.C., during the 
eponymy of Shamashnuri. The tribes on the northern 
boundary of the empire had apparently forgotten the 
lessons they had learnt at the cost of so much bloodshed 
at the beginning of his reign : many had omitted to pay 
the tribute due, one chief had seized the royal cities of 
Amidi and Damdamusa, and the rebellion threatened to 
spread to Assyria itself. Assur-nazir-pal girded on his 
armour and led his troops to battle as vigorously as in the 
days of his youth. He hastily collected, as he passed 
through their lands, the tribute due from Kipani, Izalla, 
and Kummukh, gained the banks of the Euphrates, 
traversed Gubbu burning everything on his way, made a 
detour through Dirria and Kirkhi, and finally halted before 
the walls of Damdamusa. Six hundred soldiers of the 
garrison perished in the assault and four hundred were 
taken prisoners : these he carried to Amidi and impaled as 
an object-lesson round its walls ; but, the defenders of the 
town remaining undaunted, he raised the siege and plunged 
into the gorges of the Kashiari. Having there reduced 
to submission Uda, the capital of Lapturi, son of Tubisi, 
he returned to Calah, taking with him six thousand 
prisoners whom he settled as colonists around his favourite 
residence. This was his last exploit : he never subse 
quently quitted his hereditary domain, but there passed 



76 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the remaining seven years of his life in peace, if not in 
idleness. He died in 860 B.C., after a reign of twenty- 
five years. His portraits represent him as a vigorous 
man, with a brawny neck and broad shoulders, capable 
of bearing the weight of his armour for many hours 
at a time. He is short in the head, with a somewhat 
flattened skull and low forehead; his eyes are large and 
deep-set beneath bushy eyebrows, his cheek-bones high, 
and his nose aquiline, with a fleshy tip and wide nostrils, 
while his mouth and chin are hidden by moustache and 
beard. The whole figure is instinct with real dignity, yet 
such dignity as is due rather to rank and the habitual 
exercise of power, than to the innate qualities of the man. 1 
The character of Assur-nazir-pal, as gathered from the dry 
details of his Annals, seems to have been very complex. 
He was as ambitious, resolute, and active as any prince in 
the world ; yet he refrained from offensive warfare as soon 
as his victories had brought under his rule the majority of 
the countries formerly subject to Tiglath-pileser I. He 
knew the crucial moment for ending a campaign, arresting 
his progress where one more success might have brought 
him into collision with some formidable neighbour ; and 
this wise prudence in his undertakings enabled him to 
retain the principal acquisitions won by his arms. As a 
worshipper of the gods he showed devotion and gratitude ; 
he was just to his subjects, but his conduct towards his 

Perrot and Chipiez do not admit that the Assyrian sculptors intended 
to represent the features of their kings ; for this they re]y chiefly on the 
remarkable likeness between all the figures in the same series of bas-reliefs. 
My own belief is that in Assyria, as in Egypt, the sculptors took the 
portrait of the reigning sovereign as the model for all their figures. 



SHALMANESER III. 



77 



enemies was so savage as to appear to us cruel even for 

that terribly pitiless age: no king ever employed such 

horrible punishments, or at least none has described with 

such satisfaction the tortures inflicted on his vanquished 

foes. Perhaps such measures were 

necessary, and the harshness with 

which he repressed insurrection 

prevented more frequent outbreaks 

and so averted greater sacrifice of 

life. But the horror of these 

scenes so appals the modern 

reader, that at first he can only 

regard Assur-nazir-pal as a royal 

butcher of the worst type. 

Assur-nazir-pal left to his suc 
cessor an overflowing treasury, a 
valiant army, a people proud of 
their progress and fully confident 
in their own resources, and a 
kingdom which had recovered, 
during several years of peace, from 
the strain of its previous con 
quests. Shalmaneser III.* drew 
largely on the reserves of men 

and money which his father s foresight had prepared, 
and his busy reign of thirty-five years saw thirty-two 

* [The Shalmaneser III. of the text is the Shalmaneser II. of the notes. 
-TR.] 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Mansell, taken from the 




SHALMAXESEK III. 



original stele in the British Museum. 



78 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

campaigns, conducted almost without a break, on every 
side of the empire in succession. A double task awaited 
him, which he conscientiously and successfully fulfilled. 
Assur-nazir-pal had thoroughly reorganised the empire 
and raised it to the rank of a great power : he had 
confirmed his provinces and vassal states in their allegi 
ance, and had subsequently reduced to subjection, or, at 
any rate, penetrated at various points, the little buffer 
principalities between Assyria and the powerful kingdoms 
of Babylon, Damascus, and Urartu; but he had avoided 
engaging any one of these three great states in a struggle 
of which the issue seemed doubtful. Shalmaneser could 
not maintain this policy of forbearance without loss of 
prestige in the eyes of the world : conduct which might 
seem prudent and cautious in a victorious monarch like 
Assur-nazir-pal would in him have argued timidity or weak 
ness, and his rivals would soon have provoked a quarrel if 
they thought him lacking in the courage or the means to 
attack them. Immediately after his accession, therefore, he 
assumed the offensive, and decided to measure his strength 
first against Urartu, which for some years past had been 
showing signs of restlessness. Few countries are more 
rugged or better adapted for defence than that in which his 
armies were about to take the field. The volcanoes to 
which it owed its configuration in geological times, had 
become extinct long before the appearance of man, but the 
surface of the ground still bears evidence of their former 
activity ; layers of basaltic rock, beds of scoriae and cinders, 
streams of half-disintegrated mud and lava, and more or less 
perfect cones, meet the eye at every turn. Subterranean 



THE SXOW-CLAD PEAKS 



79 



disturbances have not entirely ceased even now, for certain 
craters that of Tandurek, for example sometimes exhale 
acid fumes ; while hot springs exist in the neighbourhood, 
from which steaming waters escape in cascades to the 
valley, and earthquakes and strange subterranean noises are 
not unknown. The backbone of these Armenian mountains 



. 







THE TWO TEAKS OF MOUNT ARARAT. 1 

joins towards the south the line of the Gordya3an range ; 
it runs in a succession of zigzags from south-east to north 
west, meeting at length the mountains of Pontus and the 
last spurs of the Caucasus.. Lofty snow-clad peaks, chiefly 
of volcanic origin, rise here and there among them, the 
most important being Akhta-dagh, Tandurek, Ararat, 
Bingcel, and Palandoeken. The two unequal pyramids 
which form the summit of Ararat are covered with per 
petual snow, the higher of them being 16,916 feet above 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by A. Tissandier. 



80 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the sea-level. The spurs which issue from the principal 
chain cross each other in all directions, and make a net 
work of rocky basins where in former times water collected 
and formed lakes, nearly all of which are now dry in 
consequence of the breaking down of one or other of 
their enclosing sides. Two only of these mountain lakes 
still remain, entirely devoid of outlet, Lake Van in the 
south, and Lake Urumiah further to the south-east. The 
Assyrians called the former the Upper Sea of Nairi, and 
the latter the Lower Sea, and both constituted a defence for 
Urartu against their attacks. To reach the centre of the 
kingdom of Urartu, the Assyrians had either to cross the 
mountainous strip of land between the two lakes, or by 
making a detour to the north-west, and descending the 
difficult slopes of the valley of the Arzania, to approach the 
mountains of Armenia lying to the north of Lake Yan. 
The march was necessarily a slow and painful one for both 
horses and men, along narrow winding valleys down which 
rushed rapid streams, over raging torrents, through tangled 
forests where the path had to be cut as they advanced, and 
over barren wind-swept plateaux where rain and mist 
chilled and demoralized soldiers accustomed to the warm 
and sunny plains of the Euphrates. The majority of the 
armies which invaded this region never reached the goal of 
the expedition : they retired after a few engagements, and 
withdrew as quickly as possible to more genial climes. 
The main part of the Urartu remained almost always 
unsubdued behind its barrier of woods, rocks, and lakes, 
which protected it from the attacks levelled against it, and 
no one can say how far the kingdom extended in the 



A REGION OF CONTRASTS 81 

direction of the Caucasus. It certainly included the valley 
of the Araxes and possibly part of the valley of the Kur, 
and the steppes sloping towards the Caspian Sea. It was 
a region full of contrasts, at once favoured and ill-treated 
by nature in its elevation and aspect : rugged peaks, deep 
gorges, dense thickets, districts sterile from the heat of 
subterranean fires, and sandy wastes barren for lack of 
moisture, were interspersed with shady valleys, sunny vine- 
clad slopes, and wide stretches of fertile land covered with 
rich layers of deep alluvial soil, where thick-standing corn 
and meadow-lands, alternating with orchards, repaid the 
cultivator for the slightest attempt at irrigation. 

History does not record who were the former possessors 
of this land ; but towards the middle of the ninth century 
it was divided into several principalities, whose position 
and boundaries cannot be precisely determined. It is 
thought that Urartu lay on either side of Mount Ararat and 
on both banks of the Araxes, that Biainas lay around Lake 
Van, 1 and that the Mannai occupied the country to the 
north and east of Lake Urumiah ; a the positions of the 

1 Urartu is the only name by which the Assyrians knew the kingdom of 
Van ; it has been recognised from the very beginning of Assyriological 
studies, as well as its identity with the Ararat of the Bible and the 
Alarodians of Herodotus. It was also generally recognised that the name 
Biainas in the Vannic inscriptions, which Hincks read Bieda, corresponded to 
the Urartu of the Assyrians, but in. consequence of this mistaken reading, 
efforts have been made to connect it with Adiabene. Sayce was the first to 
show that Biainas was the name of the country of Van, and of the kingdom 
of which Van was the capital ; the word Bitani which Sayce connects with 
it is not a secondary form of the name of Van, but a present day term, 
and should be erased from the list of geographical names. 

The Mannai are the Minni of Jeremiah (li. 27), and it is in their 
country of Minyas that one tradition made the ark rest after the Deluge. 

VOL. VII, G 



82 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



other tribes on the different tributaries of the Euphrates or 
the slopes of the Armenian mountains are as yet uncertain. 
The country was probably peopled by a very mixed race, 
for its mountains have always afforded a safe asylum for 
refugees, and at each migration, which altered the face of 
Western Asia, some fugitives from neighbouring nations 
drifted to the shelter of its fastnesses. The principal 



THE KINGDOM 

OF URARTU. 

Scale. 




wn%- %/w ?PM?C- 
fff^fg^:^!! 



element, the Khaldi, were akin to that great family of 
tribes which extended across the range of the Taurus, from 
the shores of the Mediterranean to the Euxine, and in 
cluded the Khalybes, the Mushku, the Tabal, and the 
Khati. The little preserved of their language resembles 
what we know of the idioms in use among the people of 
Arzapi and Mitanni, and their religion seems to have been 
somewhat analogous to the ancient worship of the Hittites. 
The character of the ancient Armenians, as revealed 
to us by the monuments, resembles in its main features 



THE TRIBES OF URARTU 



83 



that of the Armenians of the present time. They appeal- 
as tall, strong, muscular, and determined, full of zest for 
work and fighting, and proud of their independence. Some 
of them led a pastoral life, wandering about with their 
flocks during the greater part of the year, obliged to seek 
pasturage in valley, forest, or mountain height according 
to the season, 
while in winter 
they remained 
frost-bound in 
seini - subter 
ranean dwell 
ings similar to 
those in which their 
descendants immure 
themselves at the 
present day. Where 
the soil lent itself to agricul 
ture, they proved excellent 

husbandmen, and obtained FRAGMENT OF \ VOTIVE SHIELD OF 

, UKARTIAN WOKK. 1 

abundant crops. Their inge 
nuity in irrigation was remarkable, and enabled them to 
bring water by a system of trenches from distant springs to 
supply their fields and gardens ; besides which, they knew 
how to terrace the steep hillsides so as to prevent the 
rapid draining away of moisture. Industries were but little 
developed among them, except perhaps the working of 
metals ; for were they not akin to those Chalybes of the 
Pontus, whose mines and forges already furnished iron to 

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Hormuzd Rassam. 




84 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the Grecian world ? Fragments have been discovered in 
the ruined cities of Urartu of statuettes, cups, and votive 
shields, either embossed or engraved, and decorated with 
concentric bands of animals or men, treated in the Assyrian 
manner, but displaying great beauty of style and remarkable 




SITE OF AK URABTIAK TOWN AT TOPRAH-KALEH. 1 

finish of execution. Their towns were generally fortified or 
perched on heights, rendering them easy of defence, as, for 
example, Van and Toprah-Kaleh. Even such towns as 
were royal residences were small, and not to be compared 
with the cities of Assyria or Aram ; their ground-plan 
generally assumed the form of a rectangular oblong, not 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Binder. 



DWELLINGS: RICH AND POOR 



85 



always traced with equal exactitude. The walls were built 
of blocks of roughly hewn stone, laid in regular courses, but 
without any kind of mortar or cement; they were sur 
mounted by battlements, and flanked at intervals by square 
towers, at the foot of which were outworks to protect the 




THE RUINS OF A PALACE OF URARTU AT TOPRAH-KALEII. 1 

points most open to attack. The entrance was approached 
by narrow and dangerous pathways, which sometimes ran 
on ledges across the precipitous face of the rock. The 
dwelling-houses were of very simple construction, being 
merely square cabins of stone or brick, devoid of any 
external ornament, and pierced by one low doorway, but 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Hormuzd Rassam. 



80 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

sometimes surmounted by an open colonnade supported by 
a row of small pillars ; a flat roof with a parapet crowned 
the whole, though this was often replaced by a gabled top, 
which was better adapted to withstand the rains and snows 
of winter. The palaces of the chiefs differed from the 
private houses in the size of their apartments and the 
greater care bestowed upon their decoration. Their 
facades were sometimes adorned with columns, and orna 
mented with bucklers or carved discs of metal ; slabs of 
stone covered with inscriptions lined the inner halls, but 
we do not know whether the kings added to their dedica 
tions to the gods and the recital of their victories, pictures 
of the battles they had fought and of the fortresses they 
had destroyed. The furniture resembled that in the houses 
of Nineveh, but was of simpler workmanship, and perhaps 
the most valuable articles were imported from Assyria or 
were of Aramasan manufacture. The temples seemed to 
have differed little from the palaces, at least in external 
appearance. The masonry was more regular and more 
skilfully laid ; the outer court was filled with brazen lavers 
and statues ; the interior was furnished with altars, 
sacrificial stones, idols in human or animal shape, and 
bowls identical with those in the sanctuaries on the 
Euphrates, but the nature and details of the rites in which 
they were employed are unknown. One supreme deity, 
Khaldis, god of the sky, was, as far as we can conjecture, 
the protector of the whole nation, and their name was 
derived from his, as that of the Assyrians was from Assur, 
the Cosseans from Kashshu, and the Khati from Khatu. 
This deity was assisted in the government of the universe 



FIRST CAMPAIGN OF SHALMANESER III. 



89 



by Teisbas, god of the air, and Ardinis the sun-god. 
Groups of secondary deities were ranged around this sove 
reign triad Auis, the water; Ayas, the earth; Selardis, 
the moon ; Kharubainis, Irmusinis, Adarutas, and Arzi- 
rnelas : one single inscription enumerates forty-six, but 
some of these were worshipped in special localities only. 




ASSYRIAN SOLDIERS CARRYING OFF OR DESTROYING THE FURNITURE OF AN 

UKARTIAN TEMPLE. 1 

It would appear as if no goddesses were included in the 
native Pantheon. Saris, the only goddess known to us 
at present, is probably merely a variant of the Ishtar of 
Nineveh or Arbela, borrowed from the Assyrians at a later 
date. 

The first Assyrian conquerors looked upon these 
northern regions as an integral part of Nairi, and included 
them under that name. They knew of no single state in 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Botta. Scribes are weighing gold, 
and soldiers destroying the statue of a god with their axes. 



90 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the district whose power might successfully withstand their 
own, but were merely acquainted with a group of hostile 
provinces whose internecine conflicts left them ever at the 
mercy of a foreign foe. 1 Two kingdoms had, however, risen 
to some importance about the beginning of the ninth 
century that of the Mannai in the east, and that of 
Urartu in the centre of the country. Urartu comprised 




SHALMANESEU III. CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS IN HIS CHAIUOT. 2 

the district of Ararat proper, the province of Biaina, 
and the entire basin of the Arzania. Arzashkun, one 
of its capitals, situated probably near the sources of 
this river, was hidden, and protected against attack, by an 
extent of dense forest almost impassable to a regular army. 
The power of this kingdom, though as yet unorganised, 

1 The single inscription of Tiglath-pileser I. contains a list of twenty - 
three kings of Nam, and mentions sixty chiefs of the same country. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs on the bronze 
gates of Balawat. 



OX THE SHORES OF LAKE VAX 91 

had already begun to inspire the neighbouring states with 
uneasiness. Assur-nazir-pal speaks of it incidentally as 
lying on the northern frontier of his empire, 1 but the care 
he took to avoid arousing its hostility shows the respect 
in which he held it. He was, indeed, as much afraid of 
Urartu as of Damascus, and though he approached quite 
close to its boundary in his second campaign, he preferred 
to check his triumphant advance rather than risk attacking 
it. It appears to have been at that time under the undis 
puted rule of a certain Sharduris, son of Lutipri, and 
subsequently, about the middle of Assur-nazir-pal s reign, 
to have passed into the hands of Ararne, who styled himself 
King of Nairi, and whose ambition may have caused those 
revolts which forced Assur-nazir-pal to take up arms in the 
eighteenth year of his reign. On this occasion the 
Assyrians again confined themselves to the chastisement 
of their own vassals, and checked their advance as soon as 
they approached Urartu. Their success was but temporary ; 
hardly had they withdrawn from the neighbourhood, when 
the disturbances were renewed with even greater violence, 
very probably at the instigation of Arame. Shalmaneser 
III. found matters in a very unsatisfactory state both on 
the west and south of Lake Van : some of the peoples who 
had been subject to his father the Khubushkia, the 
pastoral tribes of the G ordysean mountains, and the 

1 Arzashku, Arzashkun, seems to be the Assyrian form of an Urartian 
name ending in -lea, formed from a proper name Arzash, which recalls the 
name Arsene, Arsissa, applied by the ancients to part of Lake Van. 
Arzashkun jwj.^ht represent the Ardzik of the Armenian historians, west of 
MaJasgertr, 



92 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Aramaeans of the Euphrates had transferred their allegi 
ance elsewhere. He immediately took measures to recall 
them to a sense of their duty, and set out from Calah only 
a few days after succeeding to the crown. He marched at 
first in an easterly direction, and, crossing the pass of 
Simisi, burnt the city of Aridi, thus proving that he was 
fully prepared to treat rebels after the same fashion as 
his father. The lesson had immediate effect. All the 
neighbouring tribes, Khargaeans, Simis&ans, the people of 
Simira, Sirisha, and Ulmania, hastened to pay him homage 
even before he had struck his camp near Aridi. Hurrying 
across country by the shortest route, which entailed the 
making of roads to enable his chariots and cavalry to follow 
him, he fell upon Khubushlda, and reduced a hundred 
towns to ashes, pursuing the king Kakia into the depths 
of the forest, and forcing him to an unconditional sur 
render. Ascending thence to Shugunia, a dependency of 
Arame s, he laid the principality waste, in spite of the 
desperate resistance made on their mountain slopes by 
the inhabitants; then proceeding to Lake Van, he per 
formed the ceremonial rites incumbent on an Assyrian king 
whenever he stood for the first time on the shores of a new 
sea. He washed his weapons in the waters, offered a 
sacrifice to the gods, casting some portions of the victim 
into the lake, and before leaving carved his own image on 
the surface of a commanding rock. On his homeward 
march he received tribute from Gilzan. This expedition 
was but the prelude of further successes. After a few 
weeks repose at Nineveh, he again set out to make his 
authority felt in the western portions of his dominions. 



FURTHER SUCCESSES 



93 



Akhuni, chief of Bit-Adini, whose position was the first to 
be menaced, had formed a league with the chiefs of all the 
cities which had formerly bowed before Assur-nazir-pal s 
victorious arms, G-urgum, Samalla, Kui, the Patina, Car- 
chemish, and the Khati. Shalmaneser seized Lalati l and 




THE PEOPLE OF SHUGUNIA FIGHTIXG AGADTST THE ASSYRIANS. 2 

Burinarana, two of Akhuni s towns, drove him across the 
Euphrates, and following close on his heels, collected as he 
passed the tribute of Gurgum, and fell upon Samalla. 
Under the walls of Lutibu he overthrew the combined 
forces of Adini, Samalla, and the Patina, and raised a 

1 Lalati is probably the Lulati of the Egyptians. The modern site is 
not known, nor is that of Burmarana. 

; Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs on the bronze 
gates of Balawat. 



91 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

trophy to commemorate his victory at the sources of the 
Saluara ; then turning sharply to the south, he crossed the 
Orontes in pursuit of Shapalulme, King of the Patina. 
Not far from Alizir he encountered a fresh army raised by 
Akhuni and the King of Samalla, with contingents from 
Carchemish, Kui, Cilicia, and lasbuki : l having routed it, 




I KISOXERS FROM SHUGOriA, WITH THEIR ARMS TIED AND YOKES OK THEIR NECKS. 2 

he burnt the fortresses of Shapalulme, and after occupying 
himself hy cutting down cedars and cypress trees on the 
Amanos in the province of Atalur, he left a triumphal 
stele engraved on the mountain-side. Next turning east 
wards, he received the homage offered with alacrity by the 

1 The country of lasbuki is represented by Ishbak, a son of Abraham 
and Keturah, mentioned in Genesis (xxv. 2) in connection with Shuah. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas reliefs on the bronze 
of Balawtit, 




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RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN 07 

towns of Taia, Khazazu, Nulia, and Butamu, and, with a 
final tribute from Agusi, he returned in triumph to 
Nineveh. The motley train which accompanied him showed 
by its variety the immense extent of country he had 
traversed during this first campaign. Among the prisoners 
were representatives of widely different races ; Khati with 
long robes and cumbrous head-dresses, following naked 
mountaineers from Shugunia, who marched with yokes on 
their necks, and wore those close-fitting helmets with short 
crests which have such a strangely modern look on the 
Assyrian bas-reliefs. The actual results of the campaign 
were, perhaps, hardly commensurate with the energy 
expended. This expedition from east to west had certainly 
inflicted considerable losses on the rebels against whom it 
had been directed ; it had cost them dearly in men and 
cattle, and booty of all kinds, and had extorted from them 
a considerable amount of tribute, but they remained, 
notwithstanding, still unsubdued. As soon as the Assyrian 
troops had quitted their neighbourhood, they flattered 
themselves they were safe from further attack. No doubt 
they thought that a show of submission would satisfy the 
new invader, as it had satisfied his father; but Shalmaneser 
was not disposed to rest content with this nominal depend 
ence. He intended to exercise effective control over all 
the states won by his sword, and the proof of their subjection 
was to be the regular payment of tribute and fulfilment 
of other obligations to their suzerain. Year by year he 
unfailingly enforced his rights, till the subject states were 
obliged to acknowledge their master and resign themselves 
to servitude. 

VOL. VII. H 



98 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

The narrative of his reiterated efforts is a monotonous 
one. The king advanced against Adini in the spring 
of 859 B.C., defeated Akhuni near Tul-barsip, transported 
his victorious regiments across the Euphrates on rafts 
of skins, seized Surunu, Paripa, and Dahigu, 1 besides six 
fortresses and two hundred villages, and then advanced 
into the territory of Carchemish, which he proceeded to 
treat with such severity that the other Hittite chiefs 
hastened to avert a similar fate by tendering their sub 
mission. The very enumeration of their offerings proves 
not only their wealth, but the terror inspired by the 
advancing Assyrian host : Shapalulmg of the Patina, for 
instance, yielded up three talents of gold, a hundred talents 
of silver, three hundred talents of copper, and three 
hundred of iron, and paid in addition to this an annual 
tribute of one talent of silver, two talents of purple, and 
two hundred great beams of cedar-wood. Samalla, Agusi, 
and Kummukh were each laid under tribute in proportion 
to their resources, but their surrender did not necessarily 
lead to that of Adini. Akhuni realised that, situated as he 
was on the very borders of Assyrian territory, there was no 
longer a chance of his preserving his semi-independence, 
as was the case with his kinsfolk beyond the Euphrates ; 
proximity to the capital would involve a stricter servitude, 
which would soon reduce him from the condition of a 
vassal to that of a subject, and make him merely a 

1 Shalmaneser crossed the Euphrates near Tul-barsip, which would 
lead him into the country between Birejik, Rum-kaleh, and Aintab, and 
it is in that district that we must look for the towns subject to Akhuni. 
Dabigu, I consider, corresponds to Dehbek on Rey s map, a little to the 
north-east of Aintab ; the sites of Paripa and Surunu are unknown. 



THE CONQUEST OF BIT ADINI AND OF NAIRI 99 

governor where he had hitherto reigned as king. Aban 
doned by the Khati, he sought allies further north, and 
entered into a league with the tribes of Nalri and Urartu. 
When, in 858 B.C., Shalmaneser III. forced an entrance 
into Tul-barsip, and drove back what was left of the 
garrison on the right bank of the Euphrates, a sudden 
movement of Arame obliged him to let the prey escape 
from his grasp. Rapidly fortifying Tul-barsip, Nappigi, 
Aligu, Pitru, and Mutkiuu, and garrisoning them with 
loyal troops to command the fords of the river, as his 
ancestor Shalmaneser I. had done six centuries before, 1 he 
then re-entered Nalri by way of Blt-Zamani, devastated 
Inziti with fire and sword, forced a road through to the 
banks of the Arzania, pillaged Sukhmi and Dayatni, and 
appeared under the walls of Arzashkun. Arame withdrew 
to Mount Adduri and awaited his attack in an almost 
impregnable position ; he was nevertheless defeated : 3400 
of his soldiers fell on the field of battle ; his camp, his 
treasures, his chariots, and all his baggage passed into 
the hands of the conqueror, and he himself barely escaped 
with his life. Shalmaneser ravaged the country " as a 
savage bull ravages and tramples under his feet the fertile 
fields ; he burnt the villages and the crops, destroyed 

1 Pitru, the Pethor of the Bible (Numb. xxii. 5), is situated near the 
confluence of the Sajur and the Euphrates, somewhere near the encampment 
called Osheriyeh by Sachau. Mutkinu was on the other bank, perhaps 
at Kharbet-Beddai, nearly opposite Pitru. Nappigi was on the left bank 
of the Euphrates, which excludes its identification with Mabog-Hierapolis, 
as proposed by Hommel ; Nabigath, mentioned by Tomkins, is too far east. 
Nappigi and Aligu must both be sought in the district between the 
Euphrates and the town of Saruj. 



100 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Arzaslikun, and raised before its gates a pyramid of human 
heads, surrounded by a circle of prisoners impaled on 
stakes. He climbed the mountain chain of Iritia, and 
laid waste Aramali and Zanziuna at his leisure, and 
descending for the second time to the shores of Lake 
Van, renewed the rites he had performed there in the 




SHUA, KING OF GILZAN, BRINGING A WAR-HORSE FULLY CAPARISONED TO 

SHAL3IANESER. 1 

first year of his reign, and engraved on a neighbouring 
rock an inscription recording his deeds of prowess. He 
made his way back to Gilzan, where its king, Shua, brought 
him a war-horse fully caparisoned, as a token of homage. 
Shalmaneser graciously deigned to receive it, and further 
exacted from the king the accustomed contributions of 
chariot-horses, sheep, and wine, together with seven 
dromedaries, whose strange forms amused the gaping 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs on the Black 
Obelisk. 



SHALMANESER RETURNS TO ASSUR 



101 



crowds of Nineveh. After quitting Gilzan, Shalmaneser 
encountered the people of Khubushkia, who ventured to 
bar his way ; but its king, Kakia, lost his city of Shilaia, 
and three thousand soldiers, besides bulls, horses, and 
sheep innumerable. Having enforced submission in Khu 
bushkia, Shalmaneser at length returned to Assur through 




DROMEDARIES FROM GILZAN. 1 

the denies of Kirruri, and came to Calah to enjoy a 
well-earned rest after the fatigues of his campaign. But 
Akhuni had not yet lost heart. Though driven back 
to the right bank of the Euphrates, he had taken advantage 
of the diversion created by Ararne in his favour, to assume 
a strong position among the hills of Shitamrat with the 
river in his rear. 2 Shalmaneser attacked his lines in 

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs on the bronze 
gates of Balawat. 

1 The position of Shitamrat may answer to the ruins of the fortress 
of Rum-kaleh, which protected a ford of the Euphrates in Byzantine times. 



102 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

front, and broke through them after three days preliminary 
skirmishing ; then finding the enemy drawn up in battle 
array before their last stronghold, the king charged without 
a moment s hesitation, drove them back and forced them 
to surrender. Akhuni s life was spared, but he was 
sent with the remainder of his army to colonise a village 




TRIBUTE FROM GILZAN. 1 

in the neighbourhood of Assur, and Adini became hence 
forth an integral part of Assyria. The war on the western 
frontier was hardly brought to a close when another broke 
out in the opposite direction. The king rapidly crossed 
the pass of Bunagishlu and fell upon Mazamua : the 
natives, disconcerted by his impetuous onslaught, neverthe 
less hoped to escape by putting out in their boats on 
the broad expanse of Lake Urumiah. Shalmaneser, how- 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs on the Black 
Obelisk. 



THE FIRST ATTACK ON DAMASCUS 103 

ever, constructed rafts of inflated skins, on which his 
men ventured in pursuit right out into the open. The 
natives were overpowered ; the king " dyed the sea with 
their blood as if it had been wool," and did not withdraw 
until he had forced them to appeal for mercy. 

In five years Shalmaneser had destroyed Adini, laid 
low Urartu, and confirmed the tributary states of Syria 
in their allegiance ; but Damascus and Babylon were as 
yet untouched, and the moment was a-t hand when he 
would have to choose between an arduous conflict with 
them, or such a repression of the warlike zeal of his 
opening years, that, like his father Assur-nazir-pal, he 
would have to repose on his laurels. Shalmaneser was 
too deeply imbued with the desire for conquest to choose 
a peaceful policy : he decided at once to assume the 
offensive against Damascus, being probably influenced by 
the news of Ahab s successes, and deeming that if the 
King of Israel had gained the ascendency unaided, Assur, 
fully confident of its own superiority, need have no fear 
as to the result of a conflict. The forces, however, at the 
disposal of Benhadad II. (Adadidri) were sufficient to cause 
the Assyrians some uneasiness. The King of Damascus 
was not only lord of Coale- Syria and the Hauran, but he 
exercised a suzerainty more or less defined over Hamath, 
Israel, Ammon, the Arabian and Idumean tribes, Arvad 
and the principalities of Northern Phoenicia, Usanata, 
Shianu, and Irkanata ; l in all, twelve peoples or twelve 

Irkanata, the Egyptian Arqanatu, perhaps the Irqata of the Tel- 
el-Amarna tablets, is the Arka of Phoenicia. The other countries 
enumerated are likewise situated in the same locality. Shianu (for a long 



104 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

kings owned his sway, and their forces, if united to his, 
would provide at need an army of nearly 100,000 men: 
a few years might see these various elements merged in 
a united empire, capable of withstanding the onset of any 
foreign foe. 1 Shalmaneser set out from Nineveh on the 
14th day of the month lyyar, 854 B.C., and chastised on 
his way the Aramaeans of the Balikh, whose sheikh 
Giammu had shown some inclination to assert his in 
dependence. He crossed the Euphrates at Tul-barsip, 
and held a species of durbar at Pitru for his Syrian 
subjects : Sangar of Carchemish, Kundashpi of Kuminukh, 
Arame of Agusi, Lalli of Melitene, Khaiani of Samalla, 
Garparuda who had succeeded Shapalulme among the 
Patina, and a second Garparuda of Gurgum, rallied around 
him with their presents of welcome, and probably also with 
their troops. This ceremony concluded, he hastened to 
Khalman and reduced it to submission, then plunged into 
the hill-country between Khalman and the Orontes, and 
swept over the whole territory of Hamath. A few easy 
victories at the outset enabled him to exact ransom from, 

time read as Shizanu), the Sin of the Bible (Gen. x. 17), is mentioned by 
Tiglath-pileser III. under the name Sianu. Ushanat is called 
by Tiglath-pileser, and Delitzsch thought it represented the modern Kalaat- 
el-Hosu. With Arvad it forms the ancient Zahi of the Egyptians, which 
was then subject to Damascus. 

i The suzerainty of Ben-hadad over these twelve peoples is proved 
by the way in which they are enumerated in the Assyrian documents : 
his name always stands at the head of the list. The manner in which 
the Assyrian scribes introduce the names of these kings, mentioning some 
times one, sometimes two among them, without subtracting them from the 
total number 12, has been severely criticised, and Schrader excused 
by saying that 12 is here used as a round number somewhat vaguely. 



THE BATTLE OF QARQAR 



105 



or burn to the ground, the cities of Adinnu, Mashga, 
Argaoa, and Qarqar, but just beyond Qarqar he encountered 
the advance-guard of the Syrian army. 1 Ben-hadad had 
called together, to give him a fitting reception, the 
whole of the forces at his disposal: 1200 chariots, 1200 
horse, 20,000 foot-soldiers from Damascus alone ; 700 




TRIBUTE FROM GARPARUDA, KING OF THE PATINA. 1 

chariots, 700 horse and 10,000 foot from Hamath; 2000 
chariots and 10,000 foot belonging to Ahab, 500 soldiers 

1 The position of these towns is uncertain : the general plan of the 
campaign only proves that they must lie on the main route from Aleppo to 
Kalaat-Sejar, by Bara or by Maaret-en-N6man and Kalaat-el-Mudiq. It is 
agreed that Qarqar must be sought not far from Hamath, whatever the 
exact site may be. An examination of the map shows us that Qarqar 
corresponds to the present Kalaat-el-Mudiq, the ancient Apamsea of 
Lebanon ; the confederate army would command the ford which led to the 
plain of Hamath by Kalaat-Sejar. 

! Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs on the Black 
Obelisk. 



106 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

from Kui, 1000 mountaineers from the Taurus, 1 10 chariots 
and 10,000 foot from Irkanata, 200 from Arvad, 200 from 
Usanata, 30 chariots and 10,000 foot from Shianu, 1000 
camels from Gindibu the Arab, and 1000 Ammonites. 
The battle was long and bloody, and the issue uncertain ; 
Shalmaneser drove back one wing of the confederate army 
to the OrouteSj and forcing the other wing and the centre 
to retire from Qarqar to Kirzau, claimed the victory, 
though the losses on both sides were equally great. It 
would seem as if the battle were indecisive the Assyrians, 
at any rate, gained nothing by it ; they beat a retreat 
immediately after their pretended victory, and returned to 
their own land without prisoners and almost without booty. 
On the whole, this first conflict had not been unfavourable 
to Damascus : it had demonstrated the power of that state 
in the eyes of the most incredulous, and proved how easy 
resistance would be, if only the various princes of Syria 
would lay aside their differences and all unite under the 
command of a single chief. The effect of the battle in 
Northern Syria and among the recently annexed Aramaean 
tribes was very great ; they began to doubt the omni 
potence of Assyria, and their loyalty was shaken. Sangar 
of Carchemish and the Khati refused to pay their tribute, 
and the Emirs of Tul-Abni and Mount Kashiari broke out 
into open revolt. Shalmaneser spent a whole year in 
suppressing the insurrection ; complications, moreover, 
arose at Babylon which obliged him to concentrate his 

1 The people of the Muzri next enumerated have long been considered 
as Egyptians ; the juxtaposition of their name with that of Kui shows that 
it refers here to the Muzri of the Taurus. 



THE WAR AGAINST BABYLON 107 

attention and energy on Chaldaean affairs. Nabu-baliddin 
had always maintained peaceful and friendly relations with 
Assyria, but he had been overthrown, or perhaps assassi 
nated, and his son Marduk-nadin-shumu had succeeded 
him on the throne, to the dissatisfaction of a section of 
his subjects. Another son of Nabu-baliddin, Marduk- 
belusate, claimed the sovereign power, and soon won over 
so much of the country that Marduk-nadin-shumu had fears 
for the safety of Babylon itself. He then probably re 
membered the pretensions to Kharduniash, which his 
Assyrian neighbours had for a long time maintained, and 
applied to Shalmaneser to support his tottering fortunes. 
The Assyrian monarch must have been disposed to lend 
a favourable ear to a request which allowed him to inter 
vene as suzerain in the quarrels of the rival kingdom : he 
mobilised his forces, offered sacrifices in honour of Bamman 
at Zaban, and crossed the frontier in 853 B.C. 1 

The war dragged on during the next two years. The 
scene of hostilities was at the outset on the left bank of 
the Tigris, which for ten centuries had served as the 
battle-field for the warriors of both countries. Shalma 
neser, who had invested Me-Turnat at the fords of the 
Lower Diyalah, at length captured that fortress, and after 
having thus isolated the rebels of Babylonia proper, 
turned his steps towards Gananate. 2 Marduk-belusate, " a 

1 The town of Zaban is situated on the Lesser Zab, but it is impossible 
to fix the exact site. 

2 Me-Turnat, Me-Turni, "the water of the Turnat," stood upon the 
Diyalah, probably near the site of Bakuba, where the most frequented 
route crosses the river ; perhaps we may identify it with the Artemita 
of classical authors. Gananate must be sought higher up near the 



108 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

vacillating king, incapable of directing his own affairs," 
came out to meet him, but although repulsed and driven 
within the town, he defended his position with such spirit 
that Shalmaneser was at length obliged to draw off his 
troops after having cut down all the young corn, felled the 
fruit trees, disorganised the whole system of irrigation, in 
short, after having effected all the damage he could. He 
returned in the following spring by the most direct route ; 
Lakhiru fell into his hands, 1 but Marduk-belusate, having 
no heart to contend with him for the possession of a 
district ravaged by the struggle of the preceding summer, 
fell back on the mountains of Yasubi and concentrated 
his forces round Arm an. 2 Shalmaneser, having first 
wreaked his vengeance upon Gananate, attacked his 
adversary in his self-chosen position ; Arm an fell after 
a desperate defence, and Marduk-belusate either perished 
or disappeared in a last attempt at retaliation. Marduk- 
nadin-shumu, although rid of his rival, was not yet master 
of the entire kingdom. The Aramaaans of the Marshes, 
or, as they called themselves, the Kalda, had refused him 
their allegiance, and were ravaging the regions of the 
Lower Euphrates by their repeated incursions. They con 
stituted not so much a compact state, as a confederation 

mountains, as the context points out ; I am inclined to place it near the 
site of Khanekin, whose gardens are still celebrated, and the strategic 
importance of which is considerable. 

1 Lakhiru comes before Gananate on the direct road from Assyria, to the 
south of the Lower Zab, as we learn from the account of the campaign 
itself : we shall not do wrong in placing this town either at Kifri, or in its 
neighbourhood on the present caravan route. 

2 Mount Yasubi is the mountainous district which separates Khanekin 
from Holwan. 



THE WAR AGAINST BABYLOX 109 

of little states, alternately involved in petty internecine 
quarrels, or temporarily reconciled under the precarious 
authority of a sole monarch. Each separate state bore 
the name of the head of the family real or mythical- 
from whom all its members prided themselves on being 
descended, Bit-Dakkuri, Blt-Adini, Bit-Amukkani, Bit- 
Shalani, Bit-Shalli, and finally Bit-Yakin, which in the 
end asserted its predominance over all the rest. 1 In 
demanding Shalmaneser s help, Marduk-nadin-shumu had 
virtually thrown on him the responsibility of bringing these 
turbulent subjects to order, and the Assyrian monarch 
accepted the duties of his new position without demur. 
He marched to Babylon, entered the city and went direct 
to the temple of E-shaggil : the people beheld him approach 
with reverence their deities Bel and Bellt, and visit all 
the sanctuaries of the local gods, to whom he made end 
less propitiatory libations and pure offerings. He had 
worshipped Ninip in Kuta ; he was careful not to forget 
Nabo of Borsippa, while on the other hand he officiated 
in the temple of Ezida, and consulted its ancient oracle, 
offering upon its altars the flesh of splendid oxen and 
fat lambs. The inhabitants had their part in the festival 
as well as the gods; Shalmaneser summoned them to 
a public banquet, at which he distributed to them 
embroidered garments, and plied them with meats and 
wine; then, after renewing his homage to the gods of 

1 As far as we can judge, Bit-Dakkuri and Bit-Adini were the most 
northerly, the latter lying on both sides of the Euphrates, the former on 
the west of the Euphrates, to the south of the Bahr-i-Nejif ; Bit-Yakin was 
at the southern extremity near the mouths of the Euphrates, and on the 
western shore of the Persian Gulf. 



110 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Babylon, he recommenced his campaign, and set out in 
the direction of the sea. Baqani, the first of the Chaldasan 
cities which ]ay on his route, belonged to Bit-Adini, 1 one 
of the tribes of Bit-Dakkuri ; it appeared disposed to resist 
him, and was therefore promptly dismantled and burnt- 
an example which did not fail to cool the warlike inclina 
tions which had begun to manifest themselves in other 
parts of Blfc-Dakkuri. He next crossed the Euphrates, 
and pillaged Enzudi, the fate of which caused the remainder 
of Bit-Adini to lay down arms, and the submission of the 
latter brought about that of Bit-Yakin and Bit-Amukkani. 
These were all rich provinces, and they bought oif the 
conqueror liberally : gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, acacia- 
wood, ivory, elephants skins, were all showered upon 
the invader to secure his mercy. It must have been an 
intense satisfaction to the pride of the Assyrians to be 
able to boast that their king had deigned to offer sacrifices 
in the sacred cities of Accad, and that he had been borne 
by his war-horses to the shores of the Salt Sea; these 
facts, of little moment to us now, appeared to the people 
of those days of decisive importance. No king who was 
not actually master of the country would have been 
tolerated within the temple of the eponymous god, for 
the purpose of celebrating the rites which the sovereign 
alone was empowered to perform. Marduk-nadin-shurnu, 

1 The site of Baqani is unknown ; it should be sought for between 
Lamlum and Warka, and Bit-Adini in Bit-Dakkuri should be placed 
between the Shatt-et-Kaher and the Arabian desert, if the name of Enzudi, 
the other royal town, situated to the west of the Euphrates, is found, 
as is possible, under a popular etymology, in that of Kalaat ain-Said or 
Kalaat ain-es-Said in the modern maps. 



HOSTILITIES AGAINST DAMASCUS RESUMED 111 

in recognising Shalmaneser s right to act thus, thereby 
acknowledged that he himself was not only the king s 
ally, but his liegeman. This bond of supremacy doubtless 
did not weigh heavily upon him ; as soon as his suzerain 
had evacuated the country, the two kingdoms remained 
much on the same footing as had been established by the 
treaties of the three previous generations. Alliances were 
made between private families belonging to both, peace 
existed between the two sovereigns, interchange of com 
merce and amenities took place between the two peoples, 
but with one point of difference which had not existed 
formerly : Assur protected Babel, and, by taking pre 
cedence of Marduk, he became the real head of the peoples 
of the Euphrates valley. Assured of the subordination, 
or at least of the friendly neutrality of Babylon, Shalma- 
neser had now a free hand to undertake a campaign in 
the remoter regions of Syria, without being constantly 
haunted by the fear that his rival might suddenly swoop 
down upon him in the rear by the valleys of the Radanu 
or the Zabs. He now ran no risks in withdrawing his 
troops from the south-eastern frontier, and in marshalling 
his forces on the slopes of the Armenian Alps or on the 
banks of the Orontes, leaving merely a slender contingent 
in the heart of Assyria proper to act as the necessary 
guardians of order in the capital. 

Since the indecisive battle of Qarqar, the western 
frontier of the empire had receded as far as the Euphrates, 
and Shalmaneser had been obliged to forego the collection 
of the annual Syrian tribute. It would have been an 
excellent opportunity for the Khati, while they enjoyed 



112 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

this accidental respite, to come to an understanding with 
Damascus, for the purpose of acting conjointly against 
a common enemy ; but they let the right moment slip, 
and their isolation made submission inevitable. The effort 
to subdue them cost Shalmaneser dear, both in time and 
men ; in the spring of each year he appeared at the fords 
of Tul-barsip and ravaged the environs of Carchemish, 
then marched upon the Orontes to accomplish the 
systematic devastation of some fresh district, or to inflict 
a defeat on such of his adversaries as dared to encounter 
him in the open field. In 850 B.C. the first blow was 
struck at the Khati ; Agusi l was the next to suffer, and 
its king, Aram, lost Arnie, his royal city, with some 
hundred more townships and strongholds. 2 In 849 B.C. 
it was the turn of Damascus. The league of which Ben- 
hadad had proclaimed himself the suzerain was still in 
existence, but it had recently narrowly escaped dissolution, 

1 Historians hare up to the present admitted that this campaign of 
the year 850 took place in Armenia. The context of the account itself 
shows us that, in his tenth year, Shalmaneser advanced against the towns of 
Arame", immediately after having pillaged the country of the Khati, which 
inclines me to think that these towns were situated in Northern Syria. 
I have no doubt that the Arame in question is not the Armenian king 
of that name, but Arame the sovereign of Bit- Agusi, who is named several 
times in the Annals of Shalmaneser. 

2 The text of Bull No. 1 adds to the account of the war against Arame, 
that of a war against the Damascene league, which merely repeats the 
account of Shalmaneser s eleventh year. It is generally admitted that the 
war against Arame falls under his tenth year, and the war against Ben- 
hadad during his eleventh year. The scribes must have had at their 
disposal two different versions of one document, in which these two wars 
were described without distinction of year. The compiler of the inscription 
of the Bulls would have considered them as forming two distinct accounts, 
which he has placed one after the other. 



JEHOSHAPHATS MISTAKEN ALLIANCE 113 

and a revolt had almost deprived it of the adherence of 
Israel and the house of Omri after Hamath, the most 
active of all its members. The losses suffered at Qarqar 
had doubtless been severe enough to shake Ahab s faith 
in the strength of his master and ally. Besides this, it 
would appear that the latter had not honourably fulfilled 
all the conditions of the treaty of peace he had signed 
three years previously ; he still held the important fortress 
of Ramoth-gilead, and he delayed handing it over to Ahab 
in spite of his oath to restore it. Finding that he could 
not regain possession of it by fair means, Ahab resolved 
to take it by force. 1 A great change in feeling and politics 
had taken place at Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat, who occupied 
the throne, was, like his father Asa, a devout worshipper 
of Jahveh, but his piety did not blind him to the secular 
needs of the moment. The experience of his predecessors 
had shown that the union of the twelve tribes under the 
rule of a scion of Judah was a thing of the past for ever ; 
all attempts to restore it had ended in failure and blood 
shed, and the house of David had again only lately been 
saved from ruin by the dearly bought intervention of 
Ben-hadad I. and his Syrians. Jehoshaphat from the 
outset clearly saw the necessity of avoiding these errors 
of the past ; he accepted the situation and sought the 
friendship of Israel. An alliance between two princes so 
unequal in power could only result in a disguised suzerainty 
for one of them and a state of vassalage for the other ; 
what Ben-hadad s alliance was to Ahab, that of Ahab 
was to Jehoshaphat, and it served his purpose in spite 

1 1 Kings xxii. 3. 
VOL. VII. I 



Ill ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

of the opposition of the prophets. 1 The strained relations 
between the two countries were relaxed, and the severed 
tribes on both sides of the frontier set about repairing their 
losses; while Hiel the Bethelite at length set about 
rebuilding Jericho on behalf of Samaria, 2 Jehoshaphat was 
collecting around him a large army, and strengthening 
himself on the west against the Philistines and on the 
south against the Bedawin of the desert. 3 The marriage 
of his eldest son Jehoram * with Athaliah subsequently 
bound the two courts together by still closer ties ; 4 mutual 

1 The subordinate position of Jehoshaphat is clearly indicated by the 
reply which he makes to Ahab when the latter asks him to accompany him 
on this expedition : "I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses 
as thy horses " (1 Kings xxii. 4). 

2 1 Kings xvi. 34, where the writer has preserved the remembrance of a 
double human sacrifice, destined, according to the common custom in the 
whole of the East, to create guardian spirits for the new building : " he laid 
the foundation thereof with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up the 
gates thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub ; according to the word 
of the Lord." [For the curse pronounced on whoever should rebuild Jericho, 
sec Josh. vi. 26. TE.] 

3 2 Chron. xvii. 10-19, where the narrative must have some basis of 

truth. 

* [Following the distinction in spelling given in 2 Kings viii. 25, 1 
everywhere written Joram (of Israel) and Jehoram (of Judah), to avoid 

confusion. TB.] 

4 Athaliah is sometimes called the daughter of Ahab (2 Kings viii. 1 B), 
and sometimes the daughter of Omri (2 Kings viii. 26 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxii. 2), 
and several authors prefer the latter filiation, while the majority see in it a 
mistake of the Hebrew scribe. It is possible that both attributions may be 
correct, for we see by the Assyrian inscriptions that a sovereign is called the 
son of the founder of his line even when he was several generations removed 
from him : thus, Merodach-baladan, the adversary of Sargon of Assyria, calls 
himself son of lakin, although the founder of the Bit-Iakm had been dead 
many centuries before his accession. The document used in 2 Kings viii. 2 
may have employed the term dauyliter of Omri in the same manner 



DEATH OF AHAB 115 

visits were exchanged, and it was on the occasion of a 
stay made by Jehoshaphat at Jezreel that the expedition 
against Bamoth was finally resolved on. It might well 
have appeared a more than foolhardy enterprise, and it 
was told in Israel that Micaiah, a prophet, the son of 
Irnlah, had predicted its disastrous ending. " I saw," 
exclaimed the prophet, " the Lord sitting on His throne, 
and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand 
and on His left. And the Lord said, Who shall entice 
Ahab that he may go up and fall at Eamoth-gilead ? 
And one said on this manner, and another said on that 
manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before 
the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord 
said unto him, Wherewith ? And he said, I will go forth, 
and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. 
And He said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail 
also : go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the 
Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these 
thy prophets ; and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning 
thee." 1 

The two kings thereupon invested Eamoth, and 
Ben-hadad hastened to the defence of his fortress. 
Selecting thirty-two of his bravest charioteers, he com 
manded them to single out Ahab only for attack, and not 
fight with others until they had slain him. This injunction 
happened in some way to come to the king s ears, and he 
therefore disguised himself as a common soldier, while 

merely to indicate that the Queen of Jerusalem belonged to the house of 
Omri. 

1 Kings xxii. 5-23, reproduced in 2 Chron. xviii. 4-22. 



116 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Jehoshaphat retained his ordinary dress. Attracted by the 
richness of the latter s armour, the Syrians fell upon him, 
but on his raising his war-cry they perceived their mistake, 
and turning from the King of Judah they renewed their 
quest of the Israelitish leader. While they were vainly 
seeking him, an archer drew a bow " at a venture," and 
pierced him in the joints of his cuirass. " Wherefore he 
said to his charioteer, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of 
the host; for I am sore wounded." Perceiving, however, 
that the battle was going against him, he revoked the order, 
and remained on the field the whole day, supported by his 
armour-bearers. He expired at sunset, and the news of his 
death having spread panic through the ranks, a cry arose, 
" Every man to his city, and every man to his country ! 
The king s followers bore his body to Samaria, 1 and Israel 

1 1 Kings xxii. 28-38 (cf. 2 Chron. xviii. 28-34), with interpolations in 

verses 35 and 38. It is impossible to establish the chronology of this period 

with any certainty, so entirely do the Hebrew accounts of it differ from the 

Assyrian. The latter mention Ahab as alive at the time of the battle of 

Qarqar in 854 B.C. and Jehu on the throne in 842 B.C. We must, therefore, 

place in the intervening twelve years, first, the end of Ahab s reign; 

secondly, the two years of Ahaziah ; thirdly, the twelve years of Joram ; 

fourthly, the beginning of the reign of Jehuin all, possibly fourteen years. 

The reign of Joram has been prolonged beyond reason by the Hebrew 

annalists, and it alone lends itself to be curtailed. Admitting that the 

siege of Samaria preceded the battle of Qarqar, we may surmise that the 

three years which elapsed, according to the tradition (1 Kings xxii. 1), 

between the triumph of Ahab and his death, fall into two unequal periods, 

two previous to Qarqar, and one after it, in such a manner that the revolt 

of Israel would have been the result of the defeat of the Damascenes ; Ahab 

must have died in 835 B.C., as most modern historians agree. On the other 

hand, it is scarcely probable that Jehu ascended the throne at the very 

moment that Shalmaneser was defeating Hazael in 842 B.C. ; we can only 

carry back his accession to the preceding year, possibly 843. The duration 



AN INGLORIOUS VICTORY 117 

again relapsed into the position of a vassal, probably under 
the same conditions as before the revolt. Ahaziah survived 
his father two years, and was succeeded by his brother 
Joram. 1 When Shalmaneser, in 849 B.C., reappeared in the 
valley of the Orontes, Joram sent out against him his 
prescribed contingent, and the conquered Israelites once 
more fought for their conqueror. The Assyrians had, as 
usual, maltreated the Khati. After having pillaged the 
towns of Carchemish and Agusi, they advanced on the 
Arnanos, held to ransom the territory of the Patina 
enclosed within the bend of the Orontes, and descending 
upon Hamath by way of the districts of laraku and Ashta- 
maku, they came into conflict with the army of the twelve 
kings, though on this occasion the contest was so bloody 
that they were forced to withdraw immediately after their 
success. They had to content themselves with sacking 
Apparazu, one of the citadels of Arame, and with collecting 
the tribute of Garparuda of the Patina ; which done, they 
skirted the Amanos and provided themselves with beams 

of two years for the reign of Ahaziah can only be reduced by a few months, 
if indeed as much as that, as it allows of a full year, and part of a second 
year (cf. 1 Kings xxii. 51, where it is said that Ahaziah ascended the throne 
in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, and 2 Kings iii. 1, where it states that 
Joram of Israel succeeded Ahaziah in the 18th year of the same Jehosha 
phat) ; in placing these two years between 853 and 851, there will remain 
for the reign of Joram the period comprised between 851 and 843, namely, 
eight years, instead of the twelve attributed to him by biblical tradition. 

1 The Hebrew documents merely make mention of Ahaziah s accession, 
length of reign, and death (1 Kings xxii. 40, 51-53, and 2 Kings i. 2-17). 
The Assyrian texts do not mention his name, but they state that in 849 
" the twelve kings " fought against Shalmaneser, and, as we have already 
seen, one of the twelve was King of Israel, here, therefore necessarily 
Ahaziah, whose successor was Joram. 



118 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

from its cedars. The two following years were spent in 
harrying the people of Paqarakhbuni, on the right hank of 
the Euphrates, in the dependencies of the ancient kingdom 
of Adini (848 B.C.), and in plundering the inhabitants of 
Ishtarate in the country of laiti, near the sources of the 
Tigris (847 B.C.), till in 846 they returned to try their 
fortune again in Syria. They transported 120,000 men 
across the Euphrates, hoping perhaps, by the mere mass 
of such a force, to crush their enemy in a single battle ; 
but Ben-hadad was supported by his vassals, and their 
combined army must have been as formidable numerically 
as that of the Assyrians. As usual, after the engagement, 
Shalmaneser claimed the victory, but he did not succeed 
in intimidating the allies or in wresting from them a single 
rood of territory. 1 Discouraged, doubtless, by so many 
fruitless attempts, he decided to suspend hostilities, at all 
events for the present. In 845 B.C. he visited Nairi, and 
caused an "image of his royal Majesty" to be carved at 
the source of the Tigris close to the very spot where the 
stream first rises. Pushing forward through the defiles of 
Tunibuni, he next invaded Urartu, and devastated it as 
far as the sources of the Euphrates ; on reaching these he 
purified his arms in the virgin spring, and offered a sacrifice 
to the gods. On his return to the frontier, the chief of 
Dayaini " embraced his feet," and presented him with some 
thoroughbred horses. In 844 B.C. he crossed the Lower 
Zab and plunged into the heart of Namri ; this country 

1 The care which the king takes to specify that "with 120,000 men he 
crossed the Euphrates in flood-time " very probably shows that this number 
was for him in some respects an unusual one. 



SHALMANESER RECOMMENCES HOSTILITIES 119 

had kmg been under Babylonian influence, and its princes 
bore Semitic names, Mardukmudammiq, who was then 
its ruler, betook himself to the mountains to preserve his 
life ; but his treasures, idols, and troops were carried off to 
Assyria, and he was superseded on the throne by lanzu, 
the son of Khamban, a noble of Cossaean origin. As might 
be expected after such severe exertions, Shalmaneser 
apparently felt that he deserved a time of repose, for his 
chroniclers merely note the date of 843 B.C. as that of an 
inspection, terminating in a felling of cedars in the 
Amanos. As a fact, there was nothing stirring on the 
frontier. Chaldsea itself looked upon him as a benefactor, 
almost as a suzerain, and by its position between Elarn and 
Assyria, protected the latter from any quarrel with Susa. 
The nations on the east continued to pay their tribute 
without coercion, and Namri, which alone entertained 
pretensions to independence, had just received a severe 
lesson. Urartu had not acknowledged the supremacy 
of Assur, but it had suffered in the last invasion, and 
Arame had shown no further sign of hostility. The tribes 
of the Upper Tigris Kummukh and Adini accepted their 
position as subjects, and any trouble arising in that quarter 
was treated as merely an ebullition of local dissatisfaction, 
and was promptly crushed. , The Khati were exhausted by 
the systematic destruction of their towns and their 
harvests. Lastly, of the principalities of the Amanos, 
Gurgum, Samalla, and the Patina, if some had occasionally 
taken part in the struggles for independence, the others had 
always remained faithful in the performance of their duties 
as vassals. Damascus alone held out, and the valour with 



120 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

which she had endured all the attacks made on her showed 
no signs of abatement; unless any internal disturbance 
arose to diminish her strength, she was likely to be able to 
resist the growing power of Assyria for a long time to come. 
It was at the very time when her supremacy appeared 
to be thus firmly established that a revolution broke out, 
the effects of which soon undid the work of the preceding 
two or three generations. Ben-hadad, disembarrassed of 
Shalmaneser, desired to profit by the respite thus gained 
to make a final reckoning with the Israelites. It would 
appear that their fortune had been on the wane ever since 
the heroic death of Ahab. Immediately after the disaster 
at Eamoth, the Moabites had risen against Ahaziah, 1 and 
their king, Mesha, son of Kamoshgad, had seized the 
territory north of the Arnon which belonged to the tribe 
of Gad; he had either killed or carried away the Jewish 
population in order to colonise the district with Moabites, 
and he had then fortified most of the towns, beginning 
with Dhibon, his capital. Owing to the shortness of his 
reign, Ahaziah had been unable to take measures to hinder 
him ; but Joram, as soon as he was firmly seated on the 
throne, made every effort to regain possession of his 
province, and claimed the help of his ally or vassal 
Jehoshaphat. 2 The latter had done his best to repair the 

1 2 Kings iii. 5. The text does not name Ahaziah, and it might be con 
cluded that the revolt took place under Joram ; the expression employed by 
the Hebrew writer, however, " when Ahab was dead . . . the King of 
Moab rebelled against the King of Israel," does not permit of it being placed 
otherwise than at the opening of Ahaziah s reign. 

2 2 Kings iii. 6, 7, where Jehoshaphat replies to Joram in the same terms 
which he had used to Ahab. The chronological difficulties induced Ed. 



INSURRECTION OF MOAB 121 

losses caused by the war with Syria. Being Lord of Edom, 
he had been tempted to follow the example of Solomon, 
and the deputy who commanded in his name had con 
structed a vessel * at Ezion-geber " to go to Ophir for 
gold ; " but the vessel was wrecked before quitting the 
port, and the disaster was regarded by the king as a 
punishment from Jahveh, for when Ahaziah suggested 
that the enterprise should be renewed at their joint 
expense, he refused the offer. 1 But the sudden insurrection 
of Moab threatened him as much as it did Joram, and he 
gladly acceded to the latter s appeal for help. Apparently 
the simplest way of approaching the enemy would have 
been from the north, choosing Gilead as a base of 
operations ; but the line of fortresses constructed by Mesha 
at this vulnerable point of his frontier was so formidable, 
that the allies resolved to attack from the south after 

Meyer to replace the name of Jehoshaphat in this passage by that of his son 
Jehoram. As Stade has remarked, the presence of two kings both bearing 
the name of Jehoram in the same campaign against Moab would have been 
one of those facts which strike the popular imagination, and would not have 
been forgotten ; if the Hebrew author has connected the Moabite war with 
the name of Jehoshaphat, it is because his sources of information furnished 
him with that king s name. 

* [Both in the Hebrew and the Septuagint the ships are in the plural 
number in 1 Kings xxii. 48, 49. TE.] 

1 1 Kings xxii. 48, 49, where the .Hebrew writer calls the vessel con 
structed by Jehoshaphat a " ship of Tarshish ; " that is, a vessel built to 
make long voyages. The author of the Chronicles thought that the Jewish 
expedition to Ezion-geber on the Red Sea was destined to go to Tarshish in 
Spain. He has, moreover, transformed the vessel into a fleet, and has 
associated Ahaziah in the enterprise, contrary to the testimony of the Book 
of Kings; finally, he has introduced into the account a prophet named 
Eliezer, who represents the disaster as a chastisement for the alliance with 
Ahaziah (2 Chron. xx. 35-37). 



122 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AXD STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

passing the lower extremity of the Dead Sea. They 
marched for seven days in an arid desert, digging wells 
as they proceeded for the necessary supply of water. 
Mesha awaited them with his hastily assembled troops on 
the confines of the cultivated land ; the allies routed him 
and hlockaded him within his city of Kir-hareseth. 1 Closely 
beset, and despairing of any help from man, he had 
recourse to the last resource which religion provided for 
his salvation ; taking his firstborn son, he offered him to 
Chemosh, and burnt him on the city wall in sight of the 
besiegers. The Israelites knew what obligations this 
sacrifice entailed upon the Moabite god, and the succour 
which he would be constrained to give to his devotees in 
consequence. They therefore raised the siege and dis 
banded in all directions. 2 Mesha, delivered at the very 
moment that his cause seemed hopeless, dedicated a stele 
in the temple of Dhibon, on which he recorded his victories 
and related what measures he had taken to protect his 
people. 3 He still feared a repetition of the invasion, but 

1 Kir-Hareseth or Kir-Moab is the present Kerak, the Krak of mediaeval 
times. 

2 The account of the campaign (2 Kings iii. 8-27) belongs to the pro 
phetic cycle of Elisha, and seems to give merely a popular version of the 
event. A king of Edom is mentioned (9-10, 12-13), while elsewhere, under 
Jehoshaphat, it is stated " there was no king in Edom " (1 Kings xxii. 47) ; 
the geography also of the route taken by the expedition is somewhat con 
fused. Finally, the account of the siege of Kir-hareseth is mutilated, and 
the compiler has abridged the episode of the human sacrifice, as being too 
conducive to the honour of Chemosh and to the dishonour of JahA eh. The 
main facts of the account are correct, but the details are not clear, and 
do not all bear the stamp of veracity. 

3 This is the famous Moabite Stone or stele of Dhibon, discovered by 
Clermont-Ganneau in 1868, and now preserved in the Louvre. 



DEATH OF JEHOSHAPHAT 



123 



this misfortune was spared him ; Jehoshaphat was gathered 
to his fathers/ and his Edomite subjects revolted on 
receiving the news 
of his death. Jeho- 
ram, his son and 

1 The date of the death 
of Jehoshaphat may be 
fixed as 849 or 848 B.C. 
The biblical documents 
give us for the period of 
the history of Judah fol 
lowing on. the death of 
Ahab : First, eight years 
of Jehoshaphat, from, the 
17th year of his reign (1 
Kings xxii. 51) to his 25th 
(and last) year (1 Kings 
xxii. 42) ; secondly, eight 
years of Jehoram, son of 
Jehoshaphat (2 Kings viii. 
17) ; thirdly, one year of 
Ahaziah, son of Jehoram 
(2 Kings viii. 26) in all 
17 years, which must be 
reduced and condensed into 
the period between 853 
B.C., the probable date of 
the battle of Ramoth, and 
843, the equally probable 
date of the accession of 
Jehu. The reigns of the 
two Ahaziahs are too short 

to be further abridged ; we must therefore place the campaign against Moab 
at the earliest in 850, during the months which followed the accession of 
Joram of Israel, and lengthen Jehoshaphat s reign from 850 to 849. There 
will then be room between 849 and 844 for five years (instead of eight) for 
the reign of Jehoram of Judah. 

2 From a photograph by Faucher-Gudin, retouched by Massias from the 




THE MOABITE STONE OR, STELE OF MESHA. 2 



124 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

successor, at once took up arms to bring them to a sense 
of their duty; but they surrounded his camp, and it was 
with difficulty that he cut his way through their ranks 
and escaped during the night. The defection of the old 
Canaanite city of Libnah followed quickly on this reverse, 1 
and Jehoram was powerless to avenge himself on it, the 
Philistines and the Bedawin having threatened the western 
part of his territory and raided the country. 2 In the midst 
of these calamities Judah had no leisure to take further 
measures against Mesha, and Israel itself had suffered too 
severe a blow to attempt retaliation. The advanced age 
of Ben-hadad, and the unsatisfactory result of the campaigns 
against Shalmaneser, had furnished Joram with an occasion 
for a rupture with Damascus. War dragged on for some 
time apparently, till the tide of fortune turned against 
Joram, and, like his father Ahab in similar circumstances, 
he shut himself within Samaria, where the false alarm of 
an Egyptian or Hittite invasion produced a panic in the 
Syrian camp, and restored the fortunes of the Israelitish 
kiog. 3 Ben-hadad did not long survive the reverse he 

original in the Louvre. The fainter parts of the stele are the portions 
restored in the original. 

1 2 Kings viii. 20-22; cf. 2 Chron. xxi. 8-10. 

2 This war is mentioned only in 2 CTiron. xxi. 16, 17, where it is represented 
as a chastisement from Jahveh ; the Philistines and " the Arabs which are 
beside the Ethiopians " (Kush) seem to have taken Jerusalem, pillaged the 
palace, and carried away the wives and children of the king into captivity, 
" so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz (Ahaziah), the 
youngest of his sons." 

3 Kuenen has proposed to take the whole account of the reign of Joram, 
son of Ahab, and transfer it to that of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, and this theory 
has been approved by several recent critics and historians. On the other 
hand, some have desired to connect it with the account of the siege of 



ELISHA S COUNSEL SOUGHT 125 

had experienced ; he returned sick and at the point of 
death to Damascus, where he was assassinated by Hazael, 
one of his captains. Hebrew tradition points to the 
influence of the prophets in all these events. The aged 
Elijah had disappeared, so ran the story, caught up to 
heaven in a chariot of fire, but his mantle had fallen on 
Elisha, and his power still survived in his disciple. 1 From 
far and near Elisha s counsel was sought, alike by Gentiles 
as by the followers of the true God ; whether the suppliant 
was the weeping Shunamite mourning for the loss of her 
only son, 2 or Naaman the captain of the Damascene 
chariotry, 3 he granted their petitions, and raised the child 
from its bed, and healed the soldier of his leprosy. During 
the siege of Samaria, he had several times frustrated the 
enemy s designs, and had predicted to Joram not only 
the fact but the hour of deliverance, and the circumstances 
which would accompany it. 4 Ben-hadad had sent Hazael 
to the prophet to ask him if he should recover, and Elisha 
had wept on seeing the envoy " Because I know the evil 
that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel ; their strong 
holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou 
slay with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their little 
ones, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael 
said, But what is thy servant which is but a dog, that 
he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, 
The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over 

Samaria in Ahab s reign. I fail to see any reasonable argument which can 
be brought against the authenticity of the main fact, whatever opinion may 
be held with regard to the details of the biblical narrative. 

1 2 Kings ii. 1-15. 2 2 Kings iv. 8-37. 

3 2 Kings v. 4 2 Kings vi. 8-33 ; vii. 



126 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Syria." On returning to Damascus Hazael gave the 
results of his mission in a reassuring manner to Ben-hadad, 
but " on the morrow ... he took the coverlet and dipped 
it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died." 

The deed which deprived it of its king, seriously 
affected Damascus itself. It was to Ben-hadad that it 
owed most of its prosperity ; he it was who had humiliated 
Hamath and the princes of the coast of Arvad, and the 
nomads of the Arabian desert. He had witnessed the rise 
of the most energetic of all the Israelite dynasties, and he 
had curbed its ambition ; Ornri had been forced to pay him 
tribute ; Ahab, Ahaziah, and Joram had continued it ; 
and Ben-hadad s suzerainty, recognised more or less by 
their vassals, had extended through Moab and Judah as far 
as the Eed Sea. Not only had he skilfully built up this 
fabric of vassal states which made him lord of two-thirds of 
Syria, but he had been able to preserve it unshaken for a 
quarter of a century, in spite of rebellions in several of his 
fiefs and reiterated attacks from Assyria ; Shalmaneser, 
indeed, had made an attack on his line, but without 
breaking through it, and had at length left him master of 
the field. This superiority, however, which no reverse 
could shake, lay in himself and in himself alone ; no sooner 
had he passed away than it suddenly ceased, and Hazael 
found himself restricted from the very outset to the 
territory of Damascus proper. 2 Hamath, Arvad, and the 

1 2 Kings viii. 7-15. 

2 From this point onward, the Assyrian texts which mentioned the 
twelve kings of the Khdti, Irkhulini of Hamath and Adadidri (Ben-hadad) of 
Damascus, now only name Khazailu of the country of Damascus. 



RAMOTH BESIEGED 127 

northern peoples deserted the league, to return to it no 
more ; Jorain of Israel called on his nephew Ahaziah, who 
had just succeeded to Jehoram of Judah, and both together 
marched to besiege Kamoth. The Israelites were not 
successful in their methods of carrying on sieges ; Jorain, 
wounded in a skirmish, retired to his palace at Jezreel, 
where Ahaziah joined him a few days later, on the pretext 
of inquiring after his welfare. 1 The prophets of both 
kingdoms and their followers had never forgiven the family 
of Ahab their half-foreign extraction, nor their eclecticism 
in the matter of religion. They had numerous partisans in 
both armies, and a conspiracy was set on foot against the 
absent sovereigns ; Elisha, judging the occasion to be a 
propitious one, despatched one of his disciples to the camp 
with secret instructions. The generals were all present at 
a banquet, when the messenger arrived; he took one of 
them, Jehu, the son of Nimshi, on one side, anointed him, 
and then escaped. Jehu returned, and seated himself 
amongst his fellow-officers, who, unsuspicious of what had 
happened, questioned him as to the errand. " Is all well? 
Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee ? And he said 
unto them, Ye know the man and what his talk was. And 
they said, It is false ; tell us now. And he said, Thus and 
thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I have 
anointed thee king over Israel. Then they hasted, and 
took every man his garment and put it under him on the 
top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is 
king." He at once marched on Jezreel, and the two kings, 
surprised at this movement, went out to meet him with 

1 2 Kings via. 28, 29. 



128 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

scarcely any escort. The two parties had hardly met when 
Joram asked, " Is it peace, Jehu ? " to which Jehu replied, 
" What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother 
Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?" Whereupon 
Joram turned rein, crying to his nephew, " There is 
treachery, Ahaziah." But an arrow pierced him through 
the heart, and he fell forward in his chariot. Ahaziah, 
wounded near Ibleain, managed, however, to take refuge in 
Megiddo, where he died, his servants bringing the body 
back to Jerusalem. 1 When Jezebel heard the news, she 
guessed the fate which awaited her. She painted her eyes 
and tired her head, and posted herself in one of the upper 
windows of the palace. As Jehu entered the gates she 
reproached him with the words, " Is it peace, thou Zimri 
thy master s murderer ? And he lifted up his face to the 
window and said, Who is on my side who ? Two or three 
eunuchs rose up behind the queen, and he called to them, 
Throw her down. So they threw her down, and some of 
her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses ; and 
he trode her under foot. And when he was come in he did 
eat and drink ; and he said, See now to this cursed woman 
and bury her; for she is a king s daughter." But nothing 
was found of her except her skull, hands, and feet, which 
they buried as best they could. Seventy princes, the 
entire family of Ahab, were slain, and their heads piled up 
on either side of the gate. The priests and worshippers of 

1 According to the very curtailed account in 2 Chron. xxii. 9, Ahaziah 
appears to have hidden himself in Samaria, where he was discovered and 
taken to Jehu, who had him killed. This account may perhaps have 
belonged to the different version of which a fragment has been preserved in 
2 Kings x. 12-17. 



THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF OMRI JEHU 129 

Baal remained to be dealt with. Jehu summoned them to 
Samaria on the pretext of a sacrifice, and massacred them 
before the altars of their god. 1 According to a doubtful 
tradition, the brothers and relatives of Ahaziah, ignorant of 
what had happened, came to salute Joram, and perished in 
the confusion of the slaughter, and the line of David 
narrowly escaped extinction with the house of Omri. 3 
Athaliah assumed the regency, broke the tie of vassalage 
which bound Judah to Israel, and by a singular irony of 
fate, Jerusalem offered an asylum to the last of the children 
of Ahab. 3 The treachery of Jehu, in addition to his 
inexpiable cruelty, terrified the faithful, even while it served 
their ends. Dynastic crimes were common in those days, 
but the tragedy of Jezreel eclipsed in horror all others that 
had preceded it ; it was at length felt that such avenging 
of Jahveh was in His eyes too ruthless, and a century later 
the Prophet Hosea saw in the misery of his people the 
divine chastisement of the house of Jehu for the blood shed 
at his accession. 4 

The report of these events, reaching Calah, awoke the 
ambition of Shalmaneser. Would Damascus, mistrusting 
its usurper, deprived of its northern allies, and ill-treated by 

1 2 Kings ix. ; x. 1-12, 18-27. 

2 2 Kings x. 12-14. Stade has shown that this account is in direct con 
tradiction with its immediate context, and that it belonged to a version of 
the events differing in detail from the one which has come down to us. 
According to the latter, Jehu must at once have met Jehonadab the son of 
Rechab, and have entered Samaria in his company (vers. 15-17) ; this would 
have been a poor way of inspiring the priests of Baal with the confidence 
necessary for drawing them into the trap. According to 2 Chron. xxii. 8, 
the massacre of the princes of Judah preceded the murder of Ahaziah. 

3 2 Kings xi. 1 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxii. 10. 4 Hosea i. 4, 5. 

VOL. VII. K 



130 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the Hebrews, prove itself as invulnerable as in the past ? 
At all events, in 842 B.C., Shalmaneser once more crossed 
the Euphrates, marched along the Orontes, probably 
receiving the homage of Hamath and Arvad by the way. 
Kestricted solely to the resources of Damascus, Hazael did 
not venture to advance into Ccele-Syria as Ben-hadad had 
always done ; he barricaded the denies of Anti-Lebanon, 
and, entrenched on Mount Shenir with the flower of his 
troops, prepared to await the attack. It proved the most 
bloody battle that the Assyrians had up to that period ever 
fought. Hazael lost 16,000 foot-soldiers, 470 horsemen, 
1121 chariots, and yet succeeded in falling back on 
Damascus in good order. Shalmaneser, finding it 
impossible to force the city, devastated the surrounding 
country, burnt numberless villages and farms, and felled all 
the fruit trees in the Hauran up to the margin of the desert. 
This district had never, since the foundation of the 
kingdom by Rezon a century before, suffered at the hands 
of an enemy s army, and its population, enriched as much 
by peaceful labour as by the spoil of its successful wars, 
offered a prize of incalculable value. On his return march 
Shalmaneser raided the Bekaa, entered Phoenicia, and 
carved a triumphal stele on one of the rocks of Baalirasi. 1 
The Kings of Tyre and Sidon hastened to offer him 

1 The site of Baalirasi is left undecided by Assyriologists. The events 
which follow enable us to affirm with tolerable certainty that the point on 
the coast where Shalmaneser received the tributes of Tyre and Sidon is none 
other than the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kelb : the name Baalirasi, " the master 
of the head," would then be applicable to the rocky point which rises to the 
south of the river, and on which Egyptian kings had already sculptured their 
stelse. 



JEHU SENDS PRESENTS TO SHALMANESER 131 

numerous gifts, and Jehu, who owed to his presence 
temporary immunity from a Syrian invasion, sent his 
envoys to greet him, accompanied by offerings of gold and 
silver in bars, vessels of gold of various forms, situlse, 
salvers, cups, drinking-vessels, tin, sceptres, and wands of 
precious woods. Shalmaneser s pride was flattered by this 
homage, and he carved on one of his monuments the 




JEHU, KINO OF ISRAEL, SENDS PRESENTS TO SHALMANESER. 1 

representation of this first official connection of Assyria 
with Israel. The chief of the embassage is shown pros 
trating himself and kissing the dust before the king, while 
the rest advance in single file, some with vessels in their 
hands, some carrying sceptres, or with metal bowls 
supported on their heads. The prestige of the house of 
Omri was still a living influence, or else the Ninevite 
scribes were imperfectly informed of the internal changes 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the scenes represented on the 
Black Obelisk/ 



132 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

which had taken place in Israel, for the inscription 
accompanying this bas-relief calls Jehu the son of Omri, 
and grafts the regicide upon the genealogical tree of his 
victims. Shalmaneser s victory had been so dearly bought, 
that the following year the Assyrians merely attempted an 
expedition for tree-felling in the Amanos (841 B.C.). Their 




OF ISHAEL S TIUBUTE TO BHAL3CA9K8EB. 1 

next move was to push forward into Kui, in the direction of 
the Pyrarnos and Saros (840 B.C.). In the summer of 839 
they once more ventured southwards, but this time Hazael 
changed his tactics : pitched battles and massed move 
ments, in which the fate of a campaign was decided by one 
cast of the dice, were now avoided, and ambuscades, guerilla 
warfare, and long and tedious sieges became the order of 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs of the Black 
Obelisk. 



DEFEAT OP HAZAEL AXD HOMAGE OF JEHU 133 

the day. By the time that four towns had been taken, 
Shalmaneser s patience was worn out : he drew off his 
troops and fell back on Phoenicia, laying Tyre, Sidon, 
and Byblos under tribute before returning into Mesopo 
tamia. Hazael had shown himself possessed of no less 
energy than Ben-hadad ; and Damascus, isolated, had 
proved as formidable a foe as Damascus surrounded by its 
vassals ; Shalmaneser therefore preferred to leave matters 
as they were, and accept the situation. Indeed the results 
obtained were of sufficient importance to warrant his feeling 
some satisfaction. He had ruthlessly dispelled the dream 
of Syrian hegemony which- had buoyed up Ben-hadad, he 
had forced Damascus to withdraw the suzerainty it had 
exercised in the south, and he had conquered Northern 
Syria and the lower basin of the Orontes. Before running 
any further risks, he judged it prudent to strengthen his 
recently acquired authority over these latter countries, and 
to accustom the inhabitants to their new position as subjects 
of Nineveh. 

He showed considerable wisdom by choosing the tribes 
of the Taurus and of the Cappadocian marches as the first 
objects of attack. In regions so difficult of access, war 
could only be carried on with considerable hardship and 
severe loss. The country was seamed by torrents and 
densely covered with undergrowth, while the towns and 
villages, which clung to the steep sides of the valleys, 
had no need of walls to become effective fortresses, for 
the houses rose abruptly one above another, and formed 
so many redoubts which the enemy would be forced to 
attack and take one by one. Few pitched battles could 



134 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

be fought in a district of this description ; the Assyrians 
wore themselves out in incessant skirmishes and endless 
petty sieges, and were barely compensated by the meagre 
spoil which such warfare yielded. In 838 B.C. Shalmaneser 
swept over the country of Tabal and reduced twenty-four 




A MOUNTAIN* VILLAGE. 1 

of its princes to a state of subjection; proceeding thence, 
he visited the mountains of Turat, 2 celebrated from this 
period downwards for their silver mines and quarries of 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Alfred Boissier. 

2 The position of the mountains of Turat is indicated by the nature of 
their products : " We know of a silver mine at Marash and an iron mine not 
worked, and two fine quarries, one of pink and the other of black marble." 
Turat, therefore, must be the Marash mountain, the Aghir-Dagh and its 
spurs ; hence the two sorts of stone mentioned in the Assyrian text would 
be, the one the pink, the other the black marble. 



WARS IN CILICIA AND NAMRI 135 

valuable marbles. In 837 lie seized the stronghold of 
Uetash in Melitene, and laid Tabal under a fresh contribu 
tion ; this constituted a sort of advance post for Assyria 
in the sight of those warlike and continually fluctuating 
races situated between the sources of the Halys and the 
desert border of Asia Minor. 1 Secure on this side, he 
was about to bring matters to a close in Cilicia, when 
the defection of lanzu recalled him to the opposite ex 
tremity of the empire. He penetrated into Narnri by the 
defiles of Khashmur, 2 made a hasty march through Sik- 
hisatakh, Blt-Tamul, Bifc-Shakki, and Bit-Shedi, surprised 
the rebels and drove them into the forests ; he then bore 
down on Parsua 3 and plundered twenty-seven petty kings 

1 A fragment of an anonymous list, discovered by Delitzsch, puts the 
expedition against the Tabal in 837 B.C. instead of in 838, and consequently 
makes the entire series of ensuing expeditions one year later, up to the revolt 
of Assur-dain-pal. This is evidently a mistake of the scribe who compiled 
this edition of the Canon, and the chronology of a contemporary monument, 
such as the Black Obelisk, ought to obtain until further light can be thrown 
on the subject. 

2 For the site of Khashmur or Khashmar, cf. supra, p. 35, note 3. The 
other localities cannot as yet be identified with any modern site ; we may 
conjecture that they were scattered about the basin of the upper Diyalah. 

3 Parsua, or with the native termination Parsuash, has been identified 
first with Persia and then with Parthia, and Rost still persists in its 
identification, if not with the Parthia of classical geographers, at least with 
the Parthian people. Schrader has shown that it ought to be sought between 
Namri on the south and the Mannai on the north, in one of the valleys of 
the Gordysean mountains, and his demonstration has been accepted with a 
few modifications of detail by most scholars. I believe it to be possible to 
determine its position with still further precision. Parsua on one side lay 
on the border of Namri, which comprises the districts to the east of the 
Diyalah in the direction of Zohab, and was contiguous to the Medes on the 
other side, and also to the Mannai, who occupied the southern regions of Lake 
Urumiah ; it also lies close to Bit-Khamban, the principal of the Cosssean 



136 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

consecutively; skirting Misi, Ainadai, Araziash, 1 and 
Kharkhar, and most of the districts lying on the middle 
heights of the table-land of Iran, he at length came up 
with lauzu, whom he seized and brought back prisoner to 
Assyria, together with his family and his idols. It was 
at this juncture, perhaps, that he received from the people 
of Muzri the gift of an elephant and some large monkeys, 
representations of which he has left us on one of his bas- 
reliefs. Elephants were becoming rare, and it was not 
now possible to kill them by the hundred, as formerly, in 
Syria : this particular animal, therefore, excited the 
wonder of the Ninevites, and the possession of it flattered 
the vanity of the conqueror. This was, however, an inter 
lude of short duration, and the turbulent tribes of the 
Taurus recalled him to the west as soon as spring set in. 

tribes, as it would appear. I can find only one position on the rnap which 
would answer to all these requirements : this is in the main the basin of the 
Gave-rud and its small affluents, the Ardelan and the sources of the Kizil- 
Uzen, and I shall there place Parsua until further information is forthcoming 
on the subject. 

1 Amadai is a form of Madai, with a prothetical a, like Agusi or Azala, 
by the side of Guzi and Zala. The inscription of Shalmaneser III. thus 
gives us the first mention of the classical Medes. Araziash, placed too far 
to the east in Sagartene by Fr. Lenormant, has been located further west 
wards by Schrader, near the upper course of the Kerkha ; but the documents 
of all periods show us that on one side it adjoined Kharkhar, that is the 
basin of the Gamas-ab, on the other side Media, that is the country of 
Hamadan. It must, therefore, be placed between the two, in the northern 
part of the ancient Cambadene in the present Tchamabadan. Kharkhar in 
this case would be in the southern part of Cambadene, on the main road 
which leads from the gates of the Zagros to Hamadan ; an examination of 
the general features of the country leads me to believe that the town of 
Kharkhar should occupy the site of Kirmanshahan, or rather of the ancient 
city which preceded that town. 



LAST CAMPAIGNS OF SHALMANESER III. 



137 



He laid waste Kui in 836 B.C., destroyed Timur, its 
capital, and on his return march revenged himself on 
Arame of Agusi, whose spirit was still unbroken by his 
former misfortunes. Tanakun and Tarsus fell into his 
hands 835 B.C. ; Shalmaneser replaced Kati, the King of 
Kui, by his brother Kirn, and made of his dominions a 




ELEPHANT AND MONKEYS BKOUGHT AS A TRIBUTE TO NINEVEH BY THE PEOPLE 

OF MUZRI. 1 

kind of buffer state between his own territory and that of 
Paniphylia and Lycaonia. He had now occupied the 
throne for a quarter of a century, not a year of which 
had elapsed without seeing the monarch gird on his 
armour and lead his soldiers in person towards one or 
other points of the horizon. He was at length weary of 
such perpetual warfare, and advancing age perchance pre 
vented him from leading his troops with that dash and 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs of the Black 
Obelisk. 



138 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

vigour which are necessary to success ; however this might 
be, on his return from Cilicia he laid aside his armour 
once for all, and devoted himself to peaceful occupations. 

But he did not on that account renounce all attempts 
at conquest. Conducting his campaigns by proxy, he 
delegated the command of his army to his Tartan Dayan- 
assur, and the northern tribes were the first on whom 
this general gave proof of his prowess. Urartu had passed 
into the hands of another sovereign since its defeat in 
845 B.C., and a second Sharduris 1 had taken the place of 
the Araine who had ruled at the beginning of Shalma- 
neser s reign. It would appear that the accession of this 
prince, who was probably young and active, was the 
signal for a disturbance among the people of the Upper 
Tigris and the Masios a race always impatient of the 
yoke, and ready to make common cause with any fresh 
enemy of Assyria. An insurrection broke out in Bit- 
Zamani and the neighbouring districts. Dayan-assur 
quelled it offhand ; then, quitting the basin of the Tigris 
by the defiles of Armash, he crossed the Arzania, and 
entered Urartu. Sharduris came out to meet him, and 
was defeated, if we may give credence to the official record 
of the campaign. Even if the account be an authentic 
one, the victory was of no advantage to the Assyrians, 
for they were obliged to retreat before they had subjugated 

1 The name is written Siduri or Seduri in the text of the Obelisk, pro 
bably in accordance with some popular pronunciation, in which the r was 
but slightly rolled and finally disappeared. The identity of Seduri and Shar 
duris, has been adopted by recent historians. Belc u and Lehmann have 
shown that this Seduri was not Sharduris, son of Lutipris, but a Sharduris 
II., probably the son of Araine. 



INSECURITY OF LIFE AND PROPERTY 139 

the enemy, and an insurrection among the Patina pre 
vented them from returning to the attack in the following 
year. With obligations to their foreign master on one 
hand and to their own subjects on the other, the princes 
of the Syrian states had no easy life. If they failed to 
fulfil their duties as vassals, then an Assyrian invasion 
would pour in to their country, and sooner or later their 
ruin would be assured ; they would have before them the 
prospect of death by impaling or under the knife of the 
flayer, or, if they escaped this, captivity and exile in a 
far-off land. Prudence therefore dictated a scrupulous 
fidelity to their suzerain. On the other hand, if they 
resigned themselves to their dependent condition, the 
people of their towns would chafe at the payment of 
tribute, or some ambitious relative would take advantage 
of the popular discontent to hatch a plot and foment a 
revolution, and the prince thus threatened would escape 
from an Assyrian reprisal only to lose his throne or fall 
by the blow of an assassin. In circumstances such as 
these the people of the Patina murdered their king, Lubarna 
II., and proclaimed in his room a certain Surri, who had 
no right to the crown, but who doubtless undertook to 
liberate them from the foreigner. Dayan-assur defeated 
the rebels and blockaded the remains of their army in 
Kinalua. They defended themselves at first energetically, 
but on the death of Surri from some illness, their courage 
failed them and they offered to deliver over the sons of 
their chief if their own lives might be spared. Dayan-assur 
had the poor wretches impaled, laid the inhabitants under 
a heavy contribution, and appointed a certain Sasi, son of 



HO ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Uzza, to be their king. The remainder of Syria gave no 
further trouble a fortunate circumstance, for the countries 
on the Armenian border revolted in 832 B.C., and the 
whole year was occupied in establishing order among the 
herdsmen of Kirkhi. In 831 B.C., Dayan-assur pushed 
forward into Khubushkia, and traversed it from end to 
end without encountering any resistance. He next 
attacked the Mannai. Their prince, Ualki, quailed before 
his onslaught; he deserted his royal city Zirtu, 1 and 
took refuge in the mountains. Dayan-assur pursued him 
thither in vain, but he was able to collect considerable 
booty, and turning in a south-easterly direction, he fought 
his way along the base of the Gordyasan mountains till 
he reached Parsua, which he laid under tribute. In 830 
B.C. it was the turn of Muzazir, which hitherto had escaped 
invasion, to receive a visit from the Tartan. Zapparia, 
the capital, and fifty-six other towns were given over to 
the flames. From thence, Dayan-assur passed into Urartu 
proper ; after having plundered it, he fell back on the 
southern provinces, collecting by the way the tribute of 
Guzan, of the Mannai, of Andiu, 2 and Parsua; he then 
pushed on into the heart of Namri, and having razed to 

1 The town is elsewhere called Izivtu, and appears to have been 
designated in the inscriptions of Van by the name of Sisiri-Khadiris. 

2 Andia or Andiu is contiguous to Nairi, to Zikirtu and to Karalla, 
which latter borders on Manna ; it bordered on the country of Misa or 
Misi, into which it is merged under the name of Misianda in the time of 
Sargon. Delattre places Andiu in the country of the classical Matiense, 
between the Matisenian mountains and Lake Urumiah. The position of Misu 
on the confines of Araziash and Media, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 
Talvantu-Dagh, obliges us to place Andiu lower down to the south-east, near 
the district of Kurdasir. 



TROPHIES OF THE WARS 



141 



the ground two hundred and fifty of its towns, returned 
with his troops to Assyria by the defiles of Shimishi and 
through Khalman. This was per 
haps the last foreign campaign of 
Shalmaneser III. s reign ; it is at all 
events the last of which we possess 
any history. The record of his ex 
ploits ends, as it had begun more 
than thirty years previously, with a 
victory in Namri. 

The aged king had, indeed, well 
earned the right to end his allotted 
days in peace. Devoted to Calah, 
like his predecessor, he had there 
accumulated the spoils of his cam 
paigns, and had made it the wealthi 
est city of his empire. He continued 
to occupy the palace of Assur-nazir- 
pal, which he had enlarged. Wher 
ever he turned within its walls, his 
eyes fell upon some trophy of his wars 
or panegyric of his virtues, whether 
recorded on mural tiles covered 
with inscriptions and bas-reliefs, or 
celebrated by statues, altars, and 
triumphal stelae. The most curious 
among all these is a square-based block terminating in 
three receding stages, one above the other, like the stump 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the cast in the Louvre. [The original 
is in the Brit. Mus. TB.] 




BLACK OBELISK OF SIIAL- 
MAXESEK III. 1 



142 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

of an Egyptian obelisk surmounted by a stepped pyramid. 
Five rows of bas-reliefs on it represent scenes most flatter 
ing to Assyrian pride; the reception of tribute from 
Gilzan, Muzri, the Patina, the Israelitish Jehu, and 
Marduk-abal-uzur, King of the land of Sukhi. The latter 
knew his suzerain s love of the chase, and he provided him 
with animals for his preserves, including lions, and rare 




STAG AND LIONS OF THE COUNTRY OF SUK11I. 1 

species of deer. The inscription on the monument briefly 
relates the events which had occurred between the first and 
the thirty-first years of Shalmaneser s reign ; the defeat of 
Damascus, of Babylon and Urartu, the conquest of 
Northern Syria, of Cilicia, and of the countries bordering 
on the Zagros. When the king left Calah for some country 
residence in its neighbourhood, similar records and carv 
ings would meet his eye. At Imgur-Bel, one of the gates 

1 Drawn by Fciucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs of the Black 
Obelisk. 



CONDITIONS RIPE FOR REVOLT 143 

of the palace was covered with plates of bronze, on which 
the skilful artist had embossed and engraved with the 
chisel episodes from the campaigns on the Euphrates and 
the Tigris, the crossing of mountains and rivers, the 
assault and burning of cities, the long lines of captives, the 
melee with the enemy and the pursuit of the chariots. All 
the cities of Assyria, Nineveh, 1 Arbela, Assur, even to the 
more distant towns of Harran 2 and Tushkhan, 3 - -vied with 
each other in exhibiting proofs of his zeal for their gods 
and his affection for their inhabitants ; but his predilection 
for Calah filled them with jealousy, and Assur particularly 
could ill brook the growing aversion with which the 
Assyrian kings regarded her. It was of no avail that she 
continued to be the administrative and religious capital of 
the empire, the storehouse of the spoil and annual tribute 
of other nations, and was continually embellishing herself 
with fresh monuments : a spirit of discontent was daily 
increasing, and merely awaited some favourable occasion to 
break out into open revolt. Shalmaneser enjoyed the dignity 
of limmu for the second time after thirty years, and had 
celebrated this jubilee of his inauguration by a solemn 
festival in honour of Assur and Eamman. 4 It is possible 

1 Nineveh is mentioned as the starting-place of nearly all the first cam 
paigns in the inscription on the Monolith ; also in the Balawat inscription, 
on the other hand, towards the end of the reign, Calah is given as the 
residence of the king on the Black Obelisk. 

2 Mention of the buildings of Shalmaneser III. at Harran occurs in an 
inscription of Nabonidus. 

3 The Monolith discovered at Kurkh is in itself a proof that Shalmaneser 
executed works in this town, the Tushkhan of the inscriptions. 

4 Any connection established between this thirty-year jubilee and the 



144 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



that he may have thought this a favourable moment for 
presenting to the people the son whom he had chosen from 
among his children to succeed him. At any rate, Assur- 
dain-pal, fearing that one of his brothers might be preferred 
before him, proclaimed himself king, and nearly the whole 

of Assyria gathered 
around his standard. 
Assur and twenty- 
six more of the most 
important cities re 
volted in his favour 
-Nineveh, Imgur- 
bel, Sibaniba, Dur- 
balat, Arbela, Zaban 
in the Chaldsean 
marches, Arrapkha 
in the valley of the 
Upper Zab, and 
most of the colonies, 
both of ancient and 
recent foundation 
Amidi on the Tigris, 

THE BROXZE-COVERED GATES OF BALAWAT. 

mouths of the Kha- 

bur and Tul-Abni on the southern slopes of the Masios. 
The aged king remained in possession only of Calah 
and its immediate environs Nisibis, Harran, Tushkhan, 

thirty years festival of Egypt rests on facts which can be so little relied on, 
that it must be accepted with considerable reserve. 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the sketch by Pinches. 




THE FIRST CAMPAIGNS OF SAMSI-BAMMAN IV. 145 

and the most recently subdued provinces on the banks 
of the Euphrates and the Orontes. It is probable, how 
ever, that the army remained faithful to him, and the 
support which these well-tried troops afforded him enabled 
the king to act with promptitude. The weight of years 
did not permit him to command in person ; he there 
fore entrusted the conduct of operations to his son 
Samsi-ramman, but he did not live to see the end of the 
struggle. It embittered his last days, and was not termi 
nated till 822 B.C., at which date Shalmaneserhad been dead 
two years. This prolonged crisis had shaken the kingdom 
to its foundations ; the Syrians, the Medes, the Babylonians, 
and the peoples of the Armenian and Aramaean marches 
were rent from it, and though Samsi-ramman IV. waged 
continuous warfare during the twelve years that he governed, 
he could only partially succeed in regaining the territory 
which had been thus lost. 1 His first three campaigns were 
directed against the north-eastern and eastern provinces. 
He began by attempting to collect the tribute from Nairi, 
the payment of which had been suspended since the out 
break of the revolution, and he re-established the dominion 
of Assyria from the district of Paddir to the township of 
Kar-Shulmanasharid, which his father had founded at the 
fords of the Euphrates opposite to Carchemish (821 B.C.). 
In the following campaign he did not personally take part, 
but the Rabshakeh Mutarriz-assur pillaged the shores of 

All that we know of the reign of Samsi-ramman IV. comes from an 
inscription in archaic characters containing the account of four campaigns, 
without giving the years of each reign or the limmu, and historians have 
classified them in different ways. 

VOL. VII. L 



146 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Lake Urumiah, and then made Ms way towards Urartu, 
where he destroyed three hundred towns (820), The third 
expedition was directed against Misi and Gizilbunda beyond 
the Upper Zab and Mount Zilar. 1 The inhabitants of Misi 
entrenched themselves on a wooded ridge commanded by 
three peaks, but were defeated in spite of the advantages 
which their position secured for them ; 2 the people of 
Gizilbunda were not more fortunate than their neighbours, 
and six thousand of them perished at the assault of Urash, 
their capital. 3 Mutarriz-assur at once turned upon the 

1 Mount Zilar is beyond the Upper Zab, on one of the roads which lead 
to the basin of Lake Urumiah, probably in Khubushkia. There are two of 
these roads that which passes over the neck of Kelishin, and the other 
which runs through the gorges of Alan ; "with the exception of these two 
points, the mountain chain is absolutely impassable." According to the 
general direction of the campaign, it appears to me probable that the king 
crossed by the passes of Alan ; Mount Zilar would therefore be the group of 
chains which cover the district of Pishder, and across which the Lesser Zab 
passes before descending to the plain. 

The country of Misi adjoined Gizilbunda, Media, Araziash, and An cliu. 
All these circumstances incline us to place it in the south-eastern part of 
Kurdistan of Sihmeh, in the upper valley of Kisil-Uzen. The ridge, over 
looked by three peaks, on which the inhabitants took refuge, cannot be 
looked for on the west, where there are few important heights : I should 
rather identify it with the part of the Gordysean mountains which bounds 
the basin of the Kisil-Uzen on the west, and which contains three peaks of 
12,000 feet the Tchehel-tchechma, the Derbend, and the Nau-Kun. 

3 The name of the country has been read Giratbunda, Ginunbunda, 
Girubbunda ; a variant, to which no objections can be made, has furnished 
Gizilbunda. It was contiguous on one side to the Medes, and on the other 
to the Mannai, which obliges us to place it in Kurdistan of Gerrus, on the 
Kizil-Uzen. It may be asked if the word Kizil which occurs several times 
in the topographical nomenclature of these regions is not a relic of the name 
in question, and if Gizil-bunda is not a compound of the same class as Kizil- 
uzen, Kizil-gatchi, Kizil-alan, Kizil-lok, whether it be that part of the 
population spoke a language analogous to the dialects now in use in these 



BABYLON IS BESIEGED 147 

Medes, vanquished them, and drove them at the point of 
the sword into their remote valleys, returning to the district 
of Araziash, which he laid waste. A score of chiefs with 
barbarous names, alarmed by this example, hastened to 
prostrate themselves at his feet, and submitted to the 
tribute which he imposed on them. Assyria thus regained 
in these regions the ascendency which the victories of 
Shalmaneser III. in their time had won for her. 

Babylon, which had endured the suzerainty of its rival 
for a quarter of a century, seems to have taken advantage 
of the events occurring in Assyria to throw off the yoke, by 
espousing the cause of Assur-dain-pal. Samsi-rainman, 
therefore, as soon as he was free to turn his attention from 
Media (818), directed his forces against Babylonia. Metur- 
nafc, as usual, was the first city attacked ; it capitulated at 
once, and its inhabitants were exiled to Assyria. Kami to 
the south of the Turnat, and Dibina on Mount Yalman, 
suffered the same fate, but Gananate held out for a time ; 
its garrison, however, although reinforced by troops from 
the surrounding country, was utterly routed before its 
walls, and the survivors, who fled for refuge to the citadel 
in the centre of the town, were soon dislodged. The 
Babylonians, who had apparently been taken by surprise 
at the first attack, at length made preparations to resist 
the invaders. The Prince of Dur-papsukal, who owned 
allegiance to Marduk-balatsu-ikbi, King of Babylon, had 
disposed his troops so as to guard the fords of the Tigris, in 
order to prevent the enemy from reaching his capital. But 

districts, or that the ancient word has been preserved by later conquerors 
and assimilated to some well-known word in their own 



148 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



Samsi-ramman dispersed this advanced force, killing thirteen 
thousand, besides taking three thousand prisoners, and 

finally reduced Dur-papsukal to 
ashes. The respite thus obtained 
gave Marduk - balatsu - ikbi suf 
ficient time to collect the main 
body of his troops : the army was 
recruited from Kalda and Ela- 
mites, soldiers from Namri, and 
Aramaean contingents, and the 
united force awaited the enemy 
behind the ruins of Dur-papsukal, 
along the banks of the Daban 
canal. Five thousand footmen, 
two hundred horsemen, one 
hundred chariots, besides the 
king s tent and all his stores, fell 
into the hands of the Assyrians. 
The victory was complete ; 
Babylon, Ruta, and Borsippa 
capitulated one after the other, 

MOXOL1TII OF SAMSI-BAMHAN IV. 1 

and the invaders penetrated as 

far as the land of the Kalda, and actually reached the 
Persian Gulf. Samsi-ramman offered sacrifices to the gods, 
as his father had done before him, and concluded a treaty 
with Marduk-balatsu-ikbi, the terms of which included 
rectification of boundaries, payment of a subsidy, and the 
other clauses usual in such circumstances ; the peace was 




1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Mansell. The original 
is in the British Museum. 



RAMMAN-NIRARI III. 149 

probably ratified by a matrimonial alliance, concluded 
between the Babylonian princess Sammuramat and 
Bamrnan-nirari, son of the conqueror. In this manner the 
hegemony of Assyria over Karduniash was established even 
more firmly than before the insurrection ; but all available 
resources had been utilised in the effort necessary to secure 
it. Samsi-ramman had no leisure to reconquer Syria or 
Asia Minor, and the Euphrates remained the western 
frontier of his kingdom, as it had been in the early days of 
Shalmaneser III. The peace with Babylon, moreover, did 
not last long; Bau-akhiddin, who had succeeded Marduk- 
balatsu-ikbi, refused to observe the terms of the treaty, and 
hostilities again broke out on the Turnat and the Tigris, as 
they had done six years previously. This war was pro 
longed from 813 to 812 B.C., and was still proceeding when 
Samsi-ramman died. His son Bamman-nirari III. quickly 
brought it to a successful issue. He carried Bau-akhiddin 
captive to Assyria, with his family and the nobles of his 
court, and placed on the vacant throne one of his own 
partisans, while he celebrated festivals in honour of his 
own supremacy at Babylon, Kuta, and Borsippa. Kardu 
niash made no attempt to rebel against Assyria during the 
next half- century. Bamman-nirari proved himself an 
energetic and capable sovereign, and the thirty years of his 
reign were by no means inglorious. We learn from the 
eponym lists what he accomplished during that time, and 
against which countries he waged war ; but we have not 
yet recovered any inscription to enable us to fill in this 
outline, and put together a detailed account of his reign. 
His first expeditions were directed against Media (810), 



150 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Gozan (809), and the Manual (808-807); lie then crossed 
the Euphrates, and in four successive years conducted as 
many vigorous campaigns against Arpad (806), Khazazu 
(805), the town of Baali (804), and the cities of the 
Phoenician sea-board (803). The plague interfering with 
his advance in the latter direction, he again turned his 
attention eastward and attacked Khubushkia in 802, 792, 
and 784 ; Media in 801-800, 794-793, and 790-787 ; Lushia 
in 799 ; Narnri in 798 ; Dili in 796-795 and 785 ; Itua in 
791, 783-782 ; Kishki in 785. This bare enumeration 
conjures up a vision of an enterprising and victorious 
monarch of the type of Assur-nazir-pal or Shalmaneser III., 
one who perhaps succeeded even where his redoubtable 
ancestors had failed. The panoramic survey of his empire, 
as unfolded to us in one of his inscriptions, includes the 
mountain ranges of Illipi as far as Mount Sihma, 
Kharkhar, Araziash, Misu, Media, the whole of Gizilbunda, 
Man, Parsua, Allabria, Abdadana, the extensive territory of 
Nairi, far-off Andiu, and, westwards beyond the Euphrates, 
the Khati, the entire country of the Amorites, Tyre, Sidon, 
Israel, Edorn, and the Philistines. Never before had the 
Assyrian empire extended so far east in the direction of the 
centre of the Iranian tableland, nor so far to the south-west 
towards the frontiers of Egypt. 1 

1 Allabria or Allabur is on the borders of Parsua and of Karalla, which 
allows us to locate it in the basins of the Kerkhorah and the Saruk, 
tributaries of the Jagatu, which flow into Lake Urumiah. Abdadana, 
which borders on Allabria, and was, according to Ramman-nirari, at the 
extreme end of Nairi, was a little further to the east or north-east ; if I am 
not mistaken, it corresponds pretty nearly to Uriad, on the banks of the 
Kizil-Uzen. 



JEHU SUFFERS LOSS ON ALL SIDES 151 

In two only of these regions, namely, Syria and 
Armenia, do native documents add any information to the 
meagre summary contained in the Annals, and give us 
glimpses of contemporary rulers. The retreat of Shal- 
maneser, after his partial success in 839, had practically 
left the ancient allies of Ben-hadad II. at the mercy of 
Hazael, the new King of Damascus, but he did not 
apparently attempt to assert his supremacy over the whole 
of Coele- Syria, and before long several of its cities acquired 
considerable importance, first Mansuate, and then 
Hadrach, 1 both of which, casting Hainath into the shade, 
succeeded in holding their own against Hazael and his 
successors. He renewed hostilities, however, against the 
Hebrews, and did not relax his efforts till he had 
thoroughly brought them into subjection. Jehu suffered 
loss on all his frontiers, " from Jordan eastward, all the 
land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Eeubenites, and the 
Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, 
even Gilead and Bashan," 2 Israel became thus once more 
entirely dependent on Damascus, but the sister kingdom of 

1 Mansuati successfully resisted Ramman-nirari in 797 B.C., but 
he probably caused its ruin, for after this only expeditions against Hadrach 
are mentioned. Mansuati was in the basin of the Orontes, and the manner 
in which the Assyrian texts mention it in connection with Zimyra seems to 
show that it commanded the opening in the Lebanon range between 
Ccele-Syria and Phoenicia. The site of Khatarika, the Hadrach of Zech. 
ix. 1, is not yet precisely determined ; but it must, as well as Mansuati, 
have been in the neighbourhood of Hamath, perhaps between Hamath and 
Damascus. It appears for the first time in 772. 

2 2 Kings x. 32, 33. Even if verse 33 is a later addition, it gives a 
correct idea of the situation, except as regards Bashan, which had been lost 
to Israel for some time already. 



152 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

Judali still escaped its yoke through the energy of her 
rulers. Athaliah reigned seven years, not ingloriously ; 
but she belonged to the house of Ahab, and the adherents 
of the prophets, whose party had planned Jehu s revolution, 
could no longer witness with equanimity one of the 
accursed race thus prospering and ostentatiously practising 
the rites of Baal-worship within sight of the great temple 
of Jahveh. On seizing the throne, Athaliah had sought 
out and put to death all the members of the house of 
David who had any claim to the succession ; but Jeho- 
sheba, half-sister of Ahaziah, had with difficulty succeeded 
in rescuing Joash, one of the king s sons. Her husband 
was the high priest Jehoiada, and he secreted his nephew 
for six years in the precincts of the temple ; at the end of 
that time, he won over the captains of the royal guard, 
bribed a section of the troops, and caused them to swear 
fealty to the child as their legitimate sovereign. Athaliah, 
hastening to discover the cause of the uproar, was 
assassinated. Mattan, chief priest of Baal, shared her 
fate ; and Jehoiada at once restored to Jahveh the pre 
eminence which the gods of the alien had for a time 
usurped l (837). At first his influence over his pupil was 
supreme, but before long the memory of his services faded 
away, and the king sought only how to rid himself of a 
tutelage which had grown irksome. The temple had 
suffered during the late wars, and repairs were much 
needed. Joash ordained that for the future all moneys put 

1 2 Kings xi. ; cf. 2 Chron. xxii. 10-12, and xxiii. The author of 
2 Chron. xxii. 11 alone states that Jehosheba was the wife of the high 
priest. 



ISRAEL AND JUDAH VASSALS OP HAZAEL 153 

into the sacred treasury which of right belonged to the 
king should be placed unreservedly at the disposal of the 
priests on condition that they should apply them to the 
maintenance of the services and fabric of the temple : the 
priests accepted the gift, but failed in the faithful observ 
ance of the conditions, so that in 814 B.C. the king 
was obliged to take stringent measures to compel them 
to repair the breaches in the sanctuary walls : l he there 
fore withdrew the privilege which they had abused, and 
henceforth undertook the administration of the Temple 
Fund in person. The beginning of the new order of things 
was not very successful. Jehu had died in 815, after a 
disastrous reign, and both he and his son Jehoahaz had 
been obliged to acknowledge the supremacy of Hazael : not 
only was he in the position of an inferior vassal, but, in 
order to preclude any idea of a revolt, he was forbidden to 
maintain a greater army than the small force necessary for 
purposes of defence, namely, ten thousand foot-soldiers, 
fifty horsemen, and ten chariots. 2 The power of Israel 
had so declined that Hazael was allowed to march through 
its territory unhindered on his way to wage war in the 
country of the Philistines ; which he did, doubtless, in order 

1 2 Kings xii. 4-16 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxiv. 1-14. The beginning of the 
narrative is lost, and the whole has probably been modified to make it agree 
with 2 Kings xxii. 3-7. 

2 2 Kings xiii. 1-7. It may be noticed that the number of foot-soldiers 
given in the Bible is identical with that which the Assyrian texts mention 
as Ahab s contingent at the battle of Qarqar, viz. 10,000 ; the number of 
the chariots is very different in the two cases. Kuenen and other critics 
would like to assign to the reign of Jehoahaz the siege of Samaria by 
the Syrians, which the actual text of the Book of the Kings attributes to 



the reign of Joram. 



154 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

to get possession of the main route of Egyptian commerce. 
The Syrians destroyed Gath, 1 reduced Pentapolis to subjec 
tion, enforced tribute from Edorn, and then marched 
against Jerusalem. Joash took from the treasury of 
Jahveh the reserve funds which his ancestors, Jehoshaphat, 
Joram, and Ahaziah, had accumulated, and sent them to 
the invader, 2 together with all the gold which was found 
in the king s house. From this time forward Judah 
became, like Israel, Edom, the Philistines and Ammonites, 
a mere vassal of Hazael ; with the possible exception of 
Moab, all the peoples of Southern Syria were now subject 
to Damascus, and formed a league as strong as that which 
had successfully resisted the power of Shalmaneser. 
Ramman-nirari, therefore, did not venture to attack Syria 
during the lifetime of Hazael ; but a change of sovereign 
is always a critical moment in the history of an Eastern 
empire, and he took advantage of the confusion caused by 
the death of the aged king to attack his successor Mail 
(803 B.C.). Mari essayed the tactics which his father had 
found so successful ; he avoided a pitched battle, and shut 
himself up in Damascus. But he was soon closely block 
aded, and forced to submit to terms ; Ramman-nirari 
demanded as the price of withdrawal, 23,000 talents of 

1 The text of 2 Kings xii. 17 merely says that Hazael took Gath. Gath 
is not named by Amos among the cities of the Philistines (Amos. i. 6-8), but 
it is one of the towns cited by that prophet as examples to Israel of the 
wrath of Jahveh (vi. 2). It is probable, therefore, that it was already 
destroyed in his time. 

2 2 Kings xii. 17, 18 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxiv. 22-24, where the expedition 
of Hazael is represented as a punishment for the murder of Zechariah, son 
of Jehoiada. 



THE GROWTH AND POWER OF URARTU 155 

silver, 20 talents of gold, 3000 of copper, 5000 of iron, 
besides embroidered and dyed stuffs, an ivory couch ; and a 
litter inlaid with ivory, in all a considerable part of the 
treasures amassed at the expense of the Hebrews and their 
neighbours. It is doubtful whether Eammau-nirari pushed 
further south, and penetrated in person as far as the 
deserts of Arabia Petea a suggestion which the mention 
of the Philistines and Edomites among the list of his 
tributary states might induce us to accept. Probably it 
was not the case, and he really went no further than 
Damascus. But the submission of that city included, in 
theory at least, the submission of all states subject to her 
sway, and these dependencies may have sent some presents 
to testify their desire to conciliate his favour ; their names 
appear in the inscriptions in order to swell the number of 
direct or indirect vassals of the empire, since they were 
subject to a state which had been effectually conquered. 

Ramman-nirari did not meet with such good fortune 
in the North ; not only did he fail to obtain the brilliant 
successes which elsewhere attended his arms, but he 
ended by sustaining considerable reverses. The Ninevite 
historians reckoned the two expeditions of 808 and 807 B.C. 
against the Mannai as victories, doubtless because the 
king returned with a train of prisoners and loaded with 
spoil ; but the Vannic inscriptions reveal that Urartu, 
which had been rising into prominence during the reign 
of Shalmaneser, had now grown still more powerful, and 
had begun to reconquer those provinces on the Tigris 
and Euphrates of which the Assyrians thought themselves 
the undoubted lords. Sharduris II. had been succeeded, 



156 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



about 828, by his son Ishpuinis, who had perhaps measured 
his strength against Samsi-rarnman IV. 1 Ishpuinis appears 
to have conquered and reduced to the condition of a 
province the neighbouring principality of Biainas, which 
up to that time had been governed by a semi-independent 

dynasty ; at all events, he trans 
ferred thence his seat of govern 
ment, and made Dhuspas his 
favourite residence. To 
wards the end of his reign 
he associated with him 
on the throne his son 
Menuas, and made him 
commander - in - chief of 
the army. Menuas proved 
a bold and successful 
general, and in a few years 
had doubled the extent of 
his dominions. He first 
delivered from the As- 




TKIUMl HAL STELE OF MEXUA8 AT KEUSHK." 



g yrian 



on his father s account, the tribes on the borders of Lake 
Urumiah, Muzazir, Gilzan, and Kirruri ; then, crossing 
the G-ordysean mountains, he burnt the towns in the 
valley of the Upper Zab, which bore the uncouth names 
of Terais, Ardis, Khanalis, Bikuras, Khatqanas, Inuas, 
and Nibur, laid waste the more fertile part of Khubushkia, 

1 Ishpuinis is probably the Ushpina mentioned by Samsi-ramman among 
the conquered kings of Nairi. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by J. de Morgan. 



THE CONQUESTS OF MENUAS 157 

and carved triumphal stelae in the Assyrian and Yannic 
scripts upon the rocks in the pass of Rowandiz. It was 
probably to recover this territory that Bamman-nirari 
waged war three times in Khubnshkia, in 802, 792, and 
785, in a district which had formerly been ruled by a 
prefect from Nineveh, but had now fallen into the hands 
of the enemy. 1 Everywhere along the frontier, from the 
Lower Zab to the Euphrates, Menuas overpowered and 
drove back the Assyrian outposts. He took from them 
Aldus and Erinuis on the southern shores of Lake Van, 
compelled Dayaini to abandon its allegiance, and forced 
its king, Udhupursis, to surrender his treasure and his 
chariots ; then gradually descending the valley of the 
Arzania, he crushed Seseti, KulmS, and Ekarzu. In one 
year he pillaged the Mannai in the east, and attacked 
the Khati in the west, seizing their fortresses of Surisilis, 
Tarkhigamas, and Sarduras ; in the province of Alzu he 
left 2113 soldiers dead on the field after one engagement ; 
Gupas yielded to his sway, followed by the towns of 
Khuzanas and Puteria, whereupon he even crossed the 
Euphrates and levied tribute from Melitene. But the 
struggle against Assyria absorbed only a portion of his 
energy ; we do not know what he accomplished in the 
east, in the plains sloping towards the Caspian Sea, but 
several monuments, discovered near Armavir and Erzerum, 

1 It is probable that the stele of Kelishin, belonging to the joint reign 
of Ishpuinis and Menuas, was intended to commemorate the events which 
led Ramman-nirari to undertake his first expedition ; the conquest by 
Menuas will fall then in 804 or 803 B.C. The inscription of Meher-Kapussi 
contains the names of the divinities belonging to several conquered towns, 
and may have been engraved on the return from this war. 



158 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

testify that he pushed his arms a considerable distance 
towards the north and north-west. 1 He obliged Etius 
to acknowledge his supremacy, sending a colony to its 
capital, Lununis, whose name he changed to Menua- 
lietzilinis. 2 Towards the end of his reign he partly 
subjugated the Mannai, planting colonies throughout their 
territory to strengthen his hold on the country. By these 
campaigns he had formed a kingdom, which, stretching 
from the south side of the Araxes to the upper reaches of 
the Zab and the Tigris, was quite equal to Assyria in size, 
and probably surpassed it in density of population, for it 
contained no barren steppes such as stretched across 
Mesopotamia, affording support merely to a few wretched 
Bedawin. As their dominions increased, the sovereigns 
of Biainas began to consider themselves on an equality 
with the kings of Nineveh, and endeavoured still more to 
imitate them in the luxury and display of their domestic 
life, as well as in the energy of their actions and the 
continuity of their victories. They engraved everywhere 
on the rocks triumphal inscriptions, destined to show to 
posterity their own exploits and the splendour of their 
gods. Having made this concession to their vanity, they 
took effective measures to assure possession of their 

1 The inscription of Erzerum, discovered by F. de Saulcy and published 
by him, shows that Menuas was in possession of the district in which this 
town is situated, and that he rebuilt a palace there. 

Inscriptions of Yazli-tash and Zolakert. It follows from these texts 
that the country of Etius is the district of Armavir, and Lununis is the 
ancient name of this city. The new name by which Menuas replaced 
the name Lununis signifies the abode of the people of Menuas ; like many 
names arising from special circumstances, it naturally passed away with the 
rule of the people who had imposed it. 



THE FAVOURITE RESIDENCE OF MENUAS 159 

conquests. They selected in the various provinces sites 
difficult of access, commanding some defile in the 
mountains, or ford over a river, or at the junction of two 
roads, or the approach to a plain; on such spots they 
would build a fortress or a town, or, finding a citadel already 
existing, they would repair it and remodel its fortifications 
so as to render it impregnable. At Kalajik, Ashrut-Darga, 
and the older Mukhrapert may still be seen the ruins of 
ramparts built by Ishpuinis. Menuas finished the buildings 
his father had begun, erected others in all the districts 
where he sojourned, in time of peace or war, at Shushanz, 
Sirka, 1 Anzaff, Arzwapert, Geuzak, Zolakert, Tashtepe, and 
in the country of the Mannai, and it is possible that the 
fortified village of Melasgerd still bears his name. 2 His 
wars furnished him with the men and materials necessary 
for the rapid completion of these works, while the statues, 
valuable articles of furniture, and costly fabrics, vessels of 
silver, gold, and copper carried off from Assyrian or Asiatic 
cities, provided him with surroundings as luxurious as those 
enjoyed by the kings of Nineveh. His favourite residence 
was amid the valleys and hills of the south-western shore 
of Lake Van, the sea of the rising sun. His father, 
Ishpuinis, had already done much to embellish the site 
of Dhuspas, or Khaldinas as it was called, from the god 

1 The name of the ancient place corresponding to the modern village of 
Sirka was probably Artsunis or Artsuyunis, according to the Vannic 
inscriptions. 

2 A more correct form than Melas-gerd is Manas-gert, the city of Manas, 
where Manas would represent Menuas : one of the inscriptions of Aghtamar 
speaks of a certain Menuakhinas, city of Menuas, which may be a primitive 
version of the same name. 



160 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 



Khaldis ; he had surrounded it with strong walls, and 
within them had laid the foundations of a magnificent 
palace. Menuas carried on the work, brought water to 
the cisterns by subterranean aqueducts, planted gardens, 
and turned the whole place into an impregnable fortress, 




THE GARDENS AND HILL OF DHUSPAS OR VAN. 1 

where a small but faithful garrison could defy a large army 
for several years. Dhuspas, thus completed, formed the 
capital and defence of the kingdom during the succeeding 
century. 

Menuas was gathered to his fathers shortly before 
the death of Ramman-nirari, perhaps in 784 B.C. 2 He was 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Binder. 

This date seems to agree with the text of the Ann ah of Argistis, as far 
as we are at present acquainted with them ; Miiller has shown, in fact, 



ARGISTIS I. 161 

engaged up to the last in a quarrel with the princes who 
occupied the mountainous country to the north of the 
Araxes, and his son Argistis spent the first few years of 
his reign in completing his conquests in this region. 1 He 
crushed with ease an attempted revolt in Dayaini, and 
then invaded Etius, systematically devastating it, its king, 
Uduris, being powerless to prevent his ravages. All the 
principal towns succumbed one after another before the 
vigour of his assault, and, from the numbers killed and 
taken prisoners, we may surmise the importance of his 
victories in these barbarous districts, to which belonged 
the names of Seriazis, Silius, Zabakhas, Zirimutaras, 
Babanis, and Urmias, 2 though we cannot definitely locate 
the places indicated. On a single occasion, the assault 
on Ureyus, for instance, Argistis took prisoners 19,255 
children, 10,140 men fit to bear arms, 23,280 women, and 
the survivors of a garrison which numbered 12,675 soldiers 
at the opening of the siege, besides 1104 horses, 35,016 

that they contain the account of fourteen campaigns, probably the first 
fourteen of the reign of Argistis, and he has recognised, in accordance with 
the observations of Stanislas Guyard, the formula which separates the 
campaigns one from another. There are two campaigns against the peoples 
of the Upper Euphrates mentioned before the campaigns against Assyria, 
and as these latter follow continuously after 781, it is probable that the 
former must be placed in 783-782, which would give 783 or 784 for the 
year of his accession. 

1 The Annals of Argistis are inscribed on the face of the rock which 
crowns the citadel of Van. The inscription contains (as stated in note 
above) the history of the first fourteen yearly campaigns of Argistis. 

2 The site of these places is still undetermined. Seriazis and Silius 
(or Tarius) lay to the north-east of Dayaini, and Urmias, Urme, recalls the 
modern name of Lake Urumiah, but was probably situated on the left bank 
of the Araxes. 

VOL. VII. M 



162 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

cattle, and more than 10,000 sheep. Two expeditions 
into the heart of the country, conducted between 784 and 
782 B.C., had greatly advanced the work of conquest, 
when the accession of a new sovereign in Assyria made 
Argistis decide to risk a change of front and to concentrate 
the main part of his forces on the southern boundary of 
his empire. Ramman-nirari, after his last contest in 
Khubushkia in 784, had fought two consecutive campaigns 
against the Aramaean tribes of Itua, near the frontiers 
of Babylon, and he was still in conflict with them when 
he died in 782 B.C. His son, Shalmaneser IV., may have 
wished to signalise the commencement of his reign by 
delivering from the power of Urartu the provinces which 
the kings of that country had wrested from his ancestors ; 
or, perhaps, Argistis thought that a change of ruler offered 
him an excellent opportunity for renewing the struggle 
at the point where Menuas had left it, and for conquering 
yet more of the territory which still remained to his 
rival. Whatever the cause, the Assyrian annals show 
us the two adversaries ranged against each other, in a 
struggle which lasted from 781 to 778 B.C. Argistis had 
certainly the upper hand, and though his advance was 
not rapid, it was never completely checked. The first 
engagement took place at Nirbu, near the sources of the 
Supnat and the Tigris : Nirbu capitulated, and the enemy 
pitilessly ravaged the Hittite states, which were subject 
to Assyria, penetrating as far as the heart of Melitene 
(781). The next year the armies encountered each other 
nearer to Nineveh, in the basin of the Bitlis-tchai, at 
Khakhias ; and, in 779, Argistis expressly thanks his 



THE WARS OF SHALMANESER IV. 103 

gods, the Khaldises, for having graciously bestowed upon 
him as a gift the armies and cities of Assur. The scene 
of the war had shifted, and the contest was now carried 
on in the countries bordering on Lake Urumiah, Bustus 
and Parsua. The natives gained nothing by the change 
of invader, and were as hardly used by the King of Urartu 
as they had been by Shalmaneser III. or by Samsiramman : 
as was invariably the case, their towns were given over 
to the flames, their fields ravaged, their cattle and their 
families carried into captivity. Their resistance, however, 
was so determined that a second campaign was required 
to complete the conquest : and this time the Assyrians 
suffered a serious defeat at Surisidas (778), and a year at 
least was needed for their recovery from the disaster. 
During this respite, Argistis hastened to complete the 
pacification of Bustus, Parsua, and the small portion of 
Man which had not been reduced to subjection by Menuas. 
When the Assyrians returned to the conflict, he defeated 
them again (776), and while they withdrew to the Amanus, 
where a rebellion had broken out (775), he reduced one by 
one the small states which clustered round the eastern and 
southern shores of Lake Urumiah. He was conducting a 
campaign in Namri, when Shalmaneser IV. made a last 
effort to check his advance ; but he was again victorious 
(774), and from henceforth these troubled regions, in which 
Nineveh had so persistently endeavoured for more than 
a century to establish her own supremacy, became part 
of the empire of Urartu. Argistis s hold of them proved, 
however, to be a precarious and uncertain one, and before 
long the same difficulties assailed him which had restricted 



164 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

the power of his rivals. He was forced to return again 
and again to these districts, destroying fortresses and 
pursuing the inhabitants over plain and mountain : in 




UKAKTIAN STELE ON THE ROCKS OF AK-KEU^UU. 1 

773 we find him in Urmes, the territory of Bikhuras, and 
Bam, in the very heart of Namri; in 772, in Dhuaras, 
and Gurqus, among the Mannai, and at the city of Uikhis, 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M, Ximenes. 



ARGISTIS AND HIS WARS 165 

in Bustus. Meanwhile, to the north of the Araxes, several 
chiefs had taken advantage of his being thus engaged in 
warfare in distant regions, to hreak the very feeble bond 
which held them vassals to Urartu. Etius was the 
fountain-head and main support of the rebellion ; the 
rugged mountain range in its rear provided its chiefs with 
secure retreats among its woods and lakes and valleys, 
through which flowed rapid torrents. Argistis inflicted 
a final defeat on the Mannai in 771, and then turned his 
forces against Etius. He took by storm the citadel of 
Ardinis which defended the entrance to the country, 
ravaged Ishqigulus, 1 and seized Amegu, the capital of 
Uidharus : our knowledge of his wars comes to an end 
in the following year with an expedition into the land 
of Tarius. The monuments do not tell us what he accom 
plished on the borders of Asia Minor; he certainly won 
some considerable advantages there, and the influence 
which Assyria had exercised over states scattered to the 
north of the Taurus, such as Melitene, and possibly Tabal 
and Kummukh, which had formed the original nucleus 
of the Hittite empire, must have now passed into his 
hands. The form of Argistis looms before us as that 
of a great conqueror, worthy to bear comparison with the 
most indefatigable and triumphant of the Pharaohs of 
Egypt or the lords of ChaldaBa. The inscriptions which 
are constantly being discovered within the limits of his 
kingdom prove that, following the example of all Oriental 

1 Sayce shows that Ishqigulus was the district of Alexandropolis, to the 
east of Kars ; its capital, Irdanius, is very probably either the existing walled 
village of Kalinsha or the neighbouring ruin of Ajuk-kaleh, on the Arpa-tchai. 



166 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

sovereigns, lie delighted as much in building as in battle : 
perhaps we shall some day recover a sufficient number 
of records to enable us to restore to their rightful place 
in history this great king, and the people whose power 
he developed more than any other sovereign. 

Assyria had thus lost all her possessions in the northern 
and eastern parts of her empire ; turning to the west, how 
much still remained faithful to her ? After the expedition 
of 775 B.C. to the land of Cedars, two consecutive campaigns 
are mentioned against Damascus (773) and Hadrach (772) ; 
it was during this latter expedition, or immediately after it, 
that Shalmaneser IV. died. Northern Syria seems to have 
been disturbed by revolutions which seriously altered the 
balance of power within her borders. The ancient states, 
whose growth had been arrested by the deadly blows 
inflicted on them in the ninth century by Assur-nazir-pal 
and Shalmaneser III., had become reduced to the condition 
of second-rate powers, and their dominions had been split 
up. The Patina was divided into four small states the 
Patina proper, Unki, laudi, and Samalla, the latter falling 
under the rule of an Aramaean family ; * perhaps the 
accession of Qaral, the founder of this dynasty, had been 
accompanied by convulsions, which might explain the 
presence of Shalmaneser IV. in the Amanos in 775. All 
these principalities, whether of ancient or recent standing, 
ranged themselves under one of two kingdoms either 
Hadrach or Arpad, whose names henceforth during the 

1 The inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III. mention Unku, laudi, Samalla, 
and the Patina, in the districts where the texts of Assur-nazir-pal and 
Shalmaneser III. only know of the Patina. 



RECOIL OP ASSYRIAN POWER IN SYRIA 167 

following half-century appear in the front rank whenever a 
coalition is formed against Assyria. Carchemish, whose 
independence was still respected by the fortresses erected 
in its neighbourhood, could make no move without exposing 
itself to an immediate catastrophe : Arpad, occupying a 
prominent position a little in front of the Afrin, on the 
main route leading to the Orontes, had assumed the role 
which Carchemish was no longer in a position to fill. 
Agusi became the principal centre of resistance ; all battles 
were fought under the walls of its fortresses, and its fall 
involved the submission of all the country between the 
Euphrates and the sea, as in former times had been the 
case with Kinalua and Khazazu. 1 Similar to the ascendency 
of Arpad over the plateau of Aleppo was that of Hadrach in 
the valley of the Orontes. This city had taken the position 
formerly occupied by Hamath, which was now possibly one 
of its dependencies ; it owed no allegiance to Damascus, 
and rallied around it all the tribes of Ccele-Syria, whose 
assistance Hadadezer, but a short while before, had claimed 
in his war with the foreigner. Neither Arpad, Hadrach, 
nor Damascus ever neglected to send the customary 
presents to any sovereign who had the temerity to cross 
the Euphrates and advance into their neighbourhood, but 
the necessity for this act of .homage became more and more 
infrequent. Daring his reign of eighteen years Assurd^n 
III., son and successor of Shalmaneser IV., appeared only 
three times beneath their walls at Hadrach in 766 and 

That Arpad was in Agusi is proved, among other places, by the 
inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III., which show us from 743 to 741 the king 
at war with Matilu of Agusi and his suzerain Sharduris III. of Urartu. 



168 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

755, at Arpad in 750, a few months only before his death. 
Assyria was gradually becoming involved in difficulties, and 
the means necessary to the preservation of its empire were 
less available than formerly. Assurdan had frankly 
renounced all idea of attacking Urartu, but he had at least 
endeavoured to defend himself against his enemies on the 
southern and eastern frontiers; he had led his armies 
against Gananate (771,767), against Itua (769), and against 
the Medes (766), before risking an attack on Hadrach (765), 
but more than this he had not attempted. On two 
occasions in eight years (768, 764) he had preferred to 
abstain from offensive action, and had remained inactive in 
his own country. Assyria found herself in one of those 
crises of exhaustion which periodically laid her low after 
each outbreak of ambitious enterprise ; she might well be 
compared to a man worn out by fatigue and loss of blood, 
who becomes breathless and needs repose as soon as he 
attempts the least exertion. Before long, too, the scourges 
of disease and civil strife combined with exhaustion in 
hastening her ruin. The plague had broken out in the very 
year of the last expedition against Hadrach (765), perhaps 
under the walls of that city. An eclipse of the sun 
occurred in 763, in the month of Sivan, and this harbinger 
of woe was the signal for an outbreak of revolt in the city 
of Assur. 1 From Assur the movement spread to Arrapkha, 
and wrought havoc there from 761 to 760 ; it then passed 
on to Gozan, where it was not finally extinguished till 758. 
The last remains of Assyrian authority in Syria vanished 

1 The ideas which Orientals held on the subject of comets renders the 
connection between the two events very likely, if not certain, 



THE KINGS OF ASSYRIA 



169 



during this period : Assurdan, after two years respite, 
endeavoured to re-establish it, and attacked successively 
Hadrach (755) and Arpad (754). This was his last exploit. 
His son Assur-nirari III. spent his short reign of eight 
years in helpless inaction ; he lost Syria, he carried on 
hostilities in Namri from 749 to 748 whether against the 
Aramaeans or Urartians is uncertain then relapsed into 
inactivity, and a popular sedition drove him finally from 
Calah in 746. He died some months later, without having 
repressed the revolt ; none of his sons succeeded him, and 
the dynasty, having fallen into disrepute through the 
misfortunes of its last kings, thus came to an end ; for, on 
the 12th of lyyar, 742 B.C., a usurper, perhaps, the leader of 
the revolt at Calah, proclaimed himself king under the 
name of Tiglath-pileser. 1 The second Assyrian empire had 
lasted rather less than a century and a half, from Tukulti- 
ninip II. to Assur-nirari III. 2 

1 Many historians have thought that Tiglath-pileser III. was of 
Babylonian origin ; most of them, however, rightly considers that he was 
an Assyrian. The identity of Tiglath-pileser III. with Pulu, the Biblical 
Pul (2 Kings xv. 19) has been conclusively proved by the discovery of the 
Babylonian Chronicle, where the Babylonian reigns of Tiglath-pileser III. 
and his son Shalmaneser V. are inserted where the dynastic lists give Pulu 
and Ululai, the Poros and Elulaeos of Ptolemy. 

2 Here is the concluding portion of the dynasty of the kings of Assyria, 
from Irba-ramman to Assur-nirari III. : 



IRBA-RAMMAN .... ? 

AsSUR-NADlNAKHE II. . ? 

TUKULTI-PAL-ESHARRA 

[TlGLATHPILESER II.] . 950-935 ? 

ASSUR-DANII 935-911? 

RAMMAN-NIRARI II. . . 911-890 

TUKULTI-NINIP II. , 890-884 



ASSUR-XAZIR-PAL III. . . 884-859 
SHALMANU-SHARID [SHAL 
MANESER III.] . . . 859-824 
SAMSI-RAMMAN IV. . . . 824-812 
RAMMAN-NIRARI IV. . . 812-782 
SHALMANESER IV. . . . 782-772 

ASSUR-DAN III 772-754 

ASSUR-NIRARI 754-745 



170 ASSYRIAN REVIVAL AND STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA 

In the manner in which it had accomplished its work, 
it resembled the Egyptian empire of eight hundred years 
before. The Egyptians, setting forth from the Nile valley, 
had overrun Syria and had at first brought it under their 
suzerainty, though without actually subduing it. They had 
invaded Amurru and Zahi, Naharaim and Mitanni, where 
they had pillaged, burnt, and massacred at will for years, 
without obtaining from these countries, which were too 
remote to fall naturally within their sphere of influence, 
more than a temporary and apparent submission ; the 
regions in the neighbourhood of the isthmus alone had been 
regularly administered by the officers of Pharaoh, and when 
the country between Mount Seir and Lebanon seemed on 
the point of being organised into a real empire the invasion 
of the Peoples of the Sea had overthrown and brought to 
nought the work of three centuries. The Assyrians, under 
the leadership of ambitious kings, had in their turn carried 
their arms over the countries of the Euphrates and the 
Mediterranean, but, like those of the Egyptians before 
them, their expeditions resembled rather the destructive 
raids of a horde in search of booty than the gradual and 
orderly advance of a civilised people aiming at establishing 
a permanent empire. Their campaigns in Coele-Syria and 
Palestine had enriched their own cities and spread the 
terror of their name throughout the Eastern world, but 
their supremacy had only taken firm root in the plains 
bordering on Mesopotamia, and just when they were 
preparing to extend their rule, a power had sprung up 
beside them, over which they had been unable to triumph : 
they had been obliged to withdraw behind the Euphrates, 



END OF THE SECOND ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 171 

and they might reasonably have asked themselves whether, 
by weakening the peoples of Syria at the price of the best 
blood of their own nation, they had not merely laboured for 
the benefit of a rival power, and facilitated the rise of 
Urartu. Egypt, after her victory over the Peoples of the 
Sea, had seemed likely, for the moment, to make a fresh 
start on a career of conquest under the energetic influence 
of Eamses III., but her forces proved unequal to the task, 
and as soon as the master s hand ceased to urge her on, she 
shrank back, without a struggle, within her ancient limits, 
and ere long nothing remained to her of the Asiatic empire 
carved out by the warlike Pharaohs of the Theban 
dynasties. If Tiglath-pileser could show the same courage 
and capacity as Eamses III., he might well be equally 
successful, and raise his nation again to power ; but time 
alone could prove whether Nineveh, on his death, would be 
able to maintain a continuous effort, or whether her new 
display of energy would prove merely ephemeral, and her 
empire be doomed to sink into irremediable weakness under 
the successors of her deliverer, as Egypt had done under the 
later Eamessides. 





TIGLATH-PILESEK III. AND THE 

ORGANISATION OF THE ASSYRIAN 

EMPIRE FROM 745 TO 722 B.C. 



FAILURE OF URARTU AND RE-CONQUEST OF SYRIA EGYPT AGAIN UNITED 

UNDER ETHIOPIAN AUSPICES PIONKHI THE DOWNFALL OF DAMASCUS, 

OF BABYLON, AND OF ISRAEL. 

Assyria and its neighbours at the accession of Tiglath-pileser III. : progress 
of the Aramaeans in the basin of the Middle Tigris Urartu and its expansion 
into the north of Syria Damascus and Israel Vengeance of Israel on 
Damascus Jeroboam II. Civilisation of the Hebrcio kingdoms, their commerce, 
industries, private life, and political organisation Dawn of Hebrew literature : 
the two historians of Israel The priesthood and the prophets The prophecy 
of Amos at Bethel ; denunciation of Israel by Hosea. 

Early campaigns of Tiglath-pileser III. in Karduniash and in Media He 
determines to attack Urartu in Syria : defeat of Sharduris, campaign around 
Arpad, and capture of that city Homage paid by the Syrian princes, by 
Menahem and Rezin II. Second campaign against the Medes Invasion 
of Urartu and end of its supremacy Alliance of Pekah and Bezin against 
Ahaz : the war in Judsea and siege of Jerusalem. 



Egypt under the kings of the XXII nd dynasty The Theban principality, 
its priests, pallacides, and revolts ; the XXIII rd Tanite dynasty Tafnalhti and 
the rise of the Saite family The Egyptian kingdom of Ethiopia: theocratic 

nature of its dynasty, annexation of the Thebaid by the kingdom of Napata 

PionJchi-Miamun ; his generals in Middle Egypt ; submission of Khmunu, of 
Memphis, and of Tafnalchti Effect produced in Asia by the Ethiopian 
conquest. 

The prophet Isaiah, his rise under Ahaz Intervention of Tiglath-pileser 
III. in Hebrew affairs; the campaign of 733 B.C. against IsraelCapture 
of Hezin, and the downfall of Damascus Nabunazir ; the Kaldd and the close 
of the Babylonian dynasty; usurpation of Ukinzir Campaign against 
Ulctnzir; capture of Shapia and of Babylon Tiglath-pileser ascends the 
throne in the last-named city under the name of Fulu (729 B.C.) Death of 
Tiglath-pileser III. (727 B.C.) 

Eeorganisation of the Assyrian empire ; provinces and feudatory states 
Karduniash, Syria Wholesale deportation of conquered races Provincial 
administrators, their military and financial arrangements Buildings erected by 
Tiglath-pileser at CalahThe Bit-Khildni Foundation of feudal lordships 
Belharrdn-beluzur - - Shalmaneser V. and Egypt : rebellion of Hoshea, the 
siege of Samaria, and the prophecies of Isaiah Sargon Destruction of the 
kingdom of Israel. 





COMBAT BEFORE THE WALLS OF A FORTRESS. 1 



CHAPTER II 

TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ORGANISATION OF 
THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE FROM 745 TO 722 B.C. 

Failure of Urartu and re-conquest of Syria Egypt 
again united under Ethiopian auspices Pionkhi 
-The downfall of Damascus, of Babylon, and of 
Israel. 

TWENTS proved that, in this period, at 
any rate, the decadence of Assyria 
was not due to any exhaustion of the race 
or impoverishment of the country, but 
was mainly owing to the incapacity of its 
kings and the lack of energy displayed 
by their generals. If Menuas and 
Argistis had again and again triumphed 
over the Assyrians during 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from Layard. 
The vignette, also by Boudier, repre 
sents a bronze statuette of Queen Karomama, now in the Louvre. 




176 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

half a century, it was not because their bands of raw 
recruits were superior to the tried veterans of Ramman- 
nirari in either discipline or courage. The Assyrian troops 
had lost none of their former valour, and their muster-roll 
showed no trace of diminution, but their leaders had lost 
the power of handling their men after the vigorous fashion 
of their predecessors, and showed less foresight and tenacity 
in conducting their campaigns. Although decimated and 
driven from fortress to fortress, and from province to 
province, hampered by the rebellions it was called upon 
to suppress, and distracted by civil discord, the Assyrian 
army still remained a strong and efficient force, ever ready 
to make its full power felt the moment it realised that 
it was being led by a sovereign capable of employing its 
good qualities to advantage. Tiglath-pileser had, doubt 
less, held a military command before ascending the throne, 
and had succeeded in winning the confidence of his men : 
as soon as he had assumed the leadership they regained 
their former prestige, and restored to their country that 
supremacy which its last three rulers had failed to 
maintain. 1 

1 The official documents dealing with the history of Tiglath-pileser III. 
have been seriously mutilated, and there is on several points some difference 
of opinion among historians as to the proper order in which the fragments 
ought to be placed, and, consequently, as to the true sequence of the various 
campaigns. The principal documents are as follows : (1) The Annals in the 
Central Hall of the palace of Shalmaneser III. at Nimroud, partly defaced 
by Esarhaddon, and carried off to serve as materials for the south-western 
palace, whence they were rescued by Layard, and brought in fragments 
to the British Museum. (2) The Tablets, K. 3571 and D. T. 3, in the 
British Museum. (3} The Slabs of Nimrud, discovered by Layard and G, 
Smith. 



THE ARA3O3AXS IN THE BASIN OF THE TIGRIS 177 

The empire still included the original patrimony of 
Assur and its ancient colonies on the Upper Tigris, the 
districts of Mesopotamia won from the Aramaeans at 
various epochs, the cities of Khabur, Khindanu, Laqi, and 
Tel-Abnl, and that portion of Bit-Adini which lay to the 
left of the Euphrates. It thus formed a compact mass 
capable of successfully resisting the fiercest attacks ; but 
the buffer provinces which Assur-nazir-pal and Shalmaneser 
III. had grouped round their own immediate domains on 
the borders of Namri, of Nairi, of Melitene, and of Syria 
had either resumed their independence, or else had thrown 
in their lot with the states against which they had been 
intended to watch. The Aramaean tribes never let slip an 
opportunity of encroaching on the southern frontier. So 
far, the migratory instinct which had brought them from 
the Arabian desert to the swamps of the Persian Gulf had 
met with no check. Those who first reached its shores 
became the founders of that nation of the Kalda which 
had, perhaps, already furnished Babylon with one of its 
dynasties ; others had soon after followed in their footsteps, 
and passing beyond the Kalda settlement, had gradually 
made their way along the canals which connect the 
Euphrates with the Tigris till they had penetrated to the 
lowlands of the Uknu. Towards the middle of the eighth 
century B.C. they wedged themselves in between Elam and 
Karduniash, forming so many buffer states of varying size 
and influence. They extended from north to south along 
both banks of the Tigris, their different tribes being known 
as the Gambulu, the Puqudu, the Litau, the Damunu, the 
Kuna, the Khindaru, the Labdudu, the Harilu, and the 

VOL. VII. N 



178 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Rubuu ; 1 the Itua, who formed the vanguard, reached 
the valleys of the Turnat during the reign of Kamman- 
nirari III. They were defeated in 791 B.C., but obstinately 
renewed hostilities in 783, 782, 777, and 769 ; favoured by 
circumstances, they ended by forcing the cordon of Assyrian 
outposts, and by the time of Assur-nirari had secured a 
footing on the Lower Zab. Close by, to the east of them, 
lay Namri and Media, both at that time in a state of 
absolute anarchy. The invasions of Menuas and of Argistis 
had entirely laid waste the country, and Sharduris III., the 
king who succeeded Argistis, had done nothing towards 
permanently incorporating them with Urartu. 2 Sharduris, 
while still heir-apparent to the throne, had been appointed 
by his father governor of the recently annexed territory 
belonging to Etius and the Mannai : 3 he made Lununis 
his headquarters, and set himself to subdue the barbarians 
who had settled between the Kur and the Araxes. When 
he succeeded to the throne, about 760 B.C., the enjoyment 
of supreme power in no way lessened his activity. On the 
contrary, he at once fixed upon the sort of wide isthmus 
which separates the Araxes from Lake Urumiah, as the 
goal of his incursions, and overran the territory of the 
Babilu ; there he carried by storm three royal castles, 

1 The list of Aramtean tribes, and the positions occupied by them 
towards the middle of the eighth century, have been given us by Tiglath- 
pileser III. himself. 

2 Tiglath-pileser did not encounter any Urartian forces in these regions, 
as would almost certainly have been the case had these countries remained 
subject to Urartu from the invasions of Menuas and Argistis onwards. 

3 Argistis tells us in the Annals that he had made his son satrap 
over the provinces won from the Mannai and Etius : though his name 
is not mentioned, Sayce believes this son must have been Sharduris. 



WEALTH OF THE CONQUERED TERRITORY 179 

twenty-three cities, and sixty villages ; he then fell back 
upon Etius, passing through Dakis, Edias, and Urmes on 
his way, and brought back with him 12,735 children, 46,600 
women, 12,000 men capable of bearing arms, 23,335 oxen, 
58,100 sheep, and 2,500 horses; these figures give some 
idea of the importance of his victories and the wealth of 
the conquered territory. So far as we can learn, he does 
not seem to have attacked Khubushkia, 1 nor to have 
entered into open rivalry with Assyria; even under the 
rule of Assur-nirari III. Assyria showed a bold enough 
front to deter any enemy from disturbing her except 
when forced to do so. Sharduris merely strove to recover 
those portions of his inheritance to which Assyria attached 
but little value, and his inscriptions tell us of more than 
one campaign waged by him with this object against the 
mountaineers of Melitene, about the year 758. He captured 
most of their citadels, one after another : Dhumeskis, 
Zapsas, fourteen royal castles, and a hundred towns, in 
cluding Milid itself, where King Khitaruadas held his 
court. 2 At this point two courses lay open before him. 
He could either continue his march westwards, and, 
penetrating into Asia Miaor, fall upon the wealthy and 

1 It is evident from the account of the campaigns that Tiglath-pileser 
occupied Khubushkia from the very commencement of his reign ; we must 
therefore assume that the invasions of Argistis had produced only transient 
effects. 

2 These campaigns must have preceded the descent into Syria, and 
I believe this latter to have been anterior to the expedition of Assur-nirari 
against Arpad in 754 B.C. Assur-nirari probably tried to reconquer the 
tribes who had just become subject to Sharduris. The descent of this latter 
into Syria probably took place about 75G or 755 B.C., and his wars against 
Melitene about 758 to 757 B.C. 



180 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

industrious races who led a prosperous existence between 
the Halys and the Sangarios, such as the Tabal, the 
Chalybes, and the Phrygians, or he could turn south 
wards. Deterred, apparently, by the dreary and mono- 




A VISTA OF THE ASIATIC STEPPE. 1 

tonous aspect of the Asianic steppes, 
he chose the latter course ; he crossed 
Mount Taurus, descended into Northern Syria about 
756, and forced the Khati to swear allegiance to him. 
Their inveterate hatred of the Assyrians led the Bit- 
Agusi to accept without much reluctance the supremacy 
of the only power which had shown itself capable of with 
standing their triumphant progress. Arpad became for 



Dra-wn by Boudier, from a photograph by Alfred Boissier. 



THE EXPANSION OF URARTU INTO NORTHERN SYRIA 181 

several years an unfailing support to Urartu and the basis 
on which its rule in Syria rested. Assur-nirari had, as we 
know, at first sought to recover it, but his attempt to do 
so in 754 B.C. was unsuccessful, and merely served to 
demonstrate his own weakness : ten years later, Carchemish, 
Gurgum, Kummukh, Samalla, Unki, Kul in a word, all 
the Arama3ans and the Khati between the Euphrates and 
the sea had followed in the steps of the Agusi, and had 
acknowledged the supremacy of Sharduris. 1 This prince 
must now have been sorely tempted to adopt, on his own 
account, the policy of the Ninevite monarchs, and push 
on in the direction of Hamath, Damascus, and the 
Phoenician seaboard, towards those countries of Israel and 
Judah which were nearly coterminous with far-off Egypt. 
The rapidity of the victories which he had just succeeded 
in winning at the foot of Mount Taurus and Mount 
Amanus must have seemed a happy omen of what awaited 
his enterprise in the valleys of the Orontes and the Jordan. 
Although the races of southern and central Syria had 
suffered less than those of the north from the ambition of 
the Ninevite kings, they had, none the less, been sorely 
tried daring the previous century; and it might be 
questioned whether they had derived courage from the 
humiliation of Assyria, or still remained in so feeble a 
state as to present an easy prey to the first invader. 

The defeat inflicted on Mari by Kamman-nirari in 803 
had done but little harm to the prestige of Damascus. The 

The minimum extent of the dominions of Sharduris in Syria may 
be deduced from the list of the allies assigned to him by Tiglath-pileser 
in 743 in the Annals. 



182 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

influence exercised by this state from the sources of the 
Litany to the hrook of Egypt * was based on so solid a 
foundation that no temporary reverse had power to weaken 
it. Had the Assyrian monarch thrown himself more 
seriously into the enterprise, and reappeared before the 
ramparts of the capital in the following year, refusing to 
leave it till he had annihilated its armies and rased its 
walls to the ground, then, no doubt, Israel, Judah, the 
Philistines, Edom, and Ammon, seeing it fully occupied in 
its own defence, might have forgotten the ruthless severity 
of Hazael, and have plucked up sufficient courage to 
struggle against the Damascene yoke ; as it was, Kamman- 
nirari did not return, and the princes who had, perhaps, for 
the moment, regarded him as a possible deliverer, did not 
venture on any concerted action. Joash, King of Judah, and 
Jehoahaz, King of Israel, continued to pay tribute till both 
their deaths, within a year of each other, Jehoahaz in 797 
B.C., and Joash in 796, the first in his bed, the second by 
the hand of an assassin. 1 Their children, Jehoash in Israel, 
Amaziah in Judah, were, at first, like their parents, merely 
the instruments of Damascus; but before long, the con 
ditions being favourable, they shook off their apathy and 
initiated a more vigorous policy, each in his own kingdom. 
Mari had been succeeded by a certain Ben-hadad, also a 

* [Not the Nile, but the Wady el Arish, the frontier between Southern 
Syria and Egypt. Of. Josh. xv. 47 : 2 Kings xxiv. 7, called " river " of 
Egypt in the A.V. TR.] 

1 2 Kings xii. 20, 21, xiii. 9 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxiv. 22-26, where the 
death of Joash is mentioned as one of the consequences of the Syrian 
invasion, and as a punishment for his crime in killing the sons of 
Jehoiada. 



THE VENGEANCE OF ISRAEL ON DAMASCUS 183 

son of Hazael, 1 and possibly this change of kings was 
accompanied by one of those revolutions which had done so 
much to weaken Damascus : Jehoash rebelled and defeated 
Ben-hadad near Aphek and in three subsequent engage 
ments, but he failed to make his nation completely indepen 
dent, and the territory beyond Jordan still remained in the 
hands of the Syrians. 2 We are told that before embarking 
on this venture he went to consult the aged Elisha, then 
on his deathbed. He wept to see him in this extremity, 
and bending over him, cried out, " My father, my father, 
the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! The 
prophet bade him take bow and arrows and shoot from the 
window toward the East. The king did so, and Elisha 
said, "The Lord s arrow of victory * over Syria; for thou 
shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou have consumed 
them." Then he went on : " Take the arrows," and the 
king took them ; then he said, " Smite upon the ground," 
and the king smote thrice and stayed. And the man of 
God was wroth with him, and said, " Thou shouldest have 
smitten five or six times ; then hadst thou smitten Syria 
till thou hadst consumed it, whereas now thou shalt smite 

1 2 Kings xiii. 24, 25. Winckler is of opinion that Mari and Ben- 
hadad, son of Hazael, were one and the same person. 

2 2 Kings xiii. 25. The term " saviour " in 2 Kings xiii. 5 is generally 
taken as referring to Joash : Winckler, however, prefers to apply it to the 
King of Assyria. The biblical text does not expressly state that Joash 
failed to win back the districts of Gilead from the Syrians, but affirms that 
he took from them the cities which Hazael " had taken out of the hand 
of Jehoahaz, his father." Ramah of Gilead and the cities previously 
annexed by Jehoahaz must, therefore, have remained in the hands of 
Ben-hadad. 

* [Heb. "salvation;" A.V. deliverance." TB.] 



T1GLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Syria but thrice." l Amaziah, on his side, had routed the 
Edomites in the Valley of Salt, one of David s former 
battle-fields, and had captured their capital, Sela. 2 Elated 
by his success, he believed himself strong enough to break 
the tie of vassalage which bound him to Israel, and sent a 
challenge to Jehoash in Samaria. The latter, surprised at 
his audacity, replied in a parable, " The thistle that was in 
Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 
Give thy daughter to my son to wife. But " there passed 
by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trode down the 
thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart 
hath lifted thee up : glory thereof and abide at home ; for 
why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt that thou shouldest 
fall, even thou, and Judah with thee ? " They met near 
Beth-shemesh, on the border of the Philistine lowlands. 
Amaziah was worsted in the engagement, and fell into the 
power of his rival. Jehoash entered Jerusalem and dis 
mantled its walls for a space of four hundred cubits, "from 
the gate of Ephrairn unto the corner gate ; he pillaged 
the Temple, as though it had been the abode, not of 
Jahveh, but of some pagan deity, insisted on receiving 
hostages before he would release his prisoner, and returned 
to Samaria, where he soon after died (781 B.C.). 3 Jeroboam 
II. completed that rehabilitation of Israel, of which his 

1 2 Kings xiii. 14-19. 

2 2 Kings xiv. 7 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxv. 11, 12. Sela was rebuilt, and 
received the name of Joktheel from its Hebrew masters. The subjection 
of the country was complete, for, later on, the Hebrew chronicler tells 
of the conquest of Elath by King Azariah, son of Amaziah (2 Kings 
xiv. 22). 

3 2 Kings xiv. 8-16 cf. 2 Chron. xxv. 17-24. 



JEROBOAM II. 185 

father had but sketched the outline; he maintained his 
suzerainty, first over Amaziah, and when the latter was 
assassinated at Lachish (764), 1 over his son, the young 
Azariah. 2 After the defeat of Ben-hadad near Aphek, 
Damascus declined still further in power, and Hadrach, 
suddenly emerging from obscurity, completely barred the 
valley of the Orontes agaiust it. An expedition under 
Shalmaneser IV. in 773 seems to have precipitated it to 
a lower depth than it had ever reached before : Jeroboam 
was able to wrest from it, almost without a struggle, the 
cities which it had usurped in the days of Jehu, and Gilead 
was at last set free from a yoke which had oppressed it for 
more than a century. Tradition goes so far as to affirm 
that Israel reconquered the Bekaa, Hamath, and Damascus, 
those northern territories once possessed by David, and it is 
quite possible that its rivals, menaced from afar by 
Assyria and hard pressed at their own doors by Hadrach, 
may have resorted to one of those propitiatory overtures 
which eastern rnonarchs are only too ready to recognise 
as acts of submission. The lesser southern states, such as 
Ammon, the Bedawin tribes of Hauran, and, at the 
opposite extremity of the kingdom, the Philistines, 3 who 
had bowed themselves before Hazael in the days of his 

1 2 Kings xiv. 19, 20 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxv. 27, 28. 

2 The Hebrew texts make no mention of this subjection of Judah to 
Jeroboam II. ; that it actually took place must, however, be admitted, 
at any rate in so far as the first half of the reign of Azariah is concerned, as 
a necessary outcome of the events of the preceding reigns. 

3 The conquests of Jeroboam II. are indicated very briefly in 2 Kings 
xiv. 25-28 : cf. Amos vi. 14, where the expressions employed by the prophet 
imply that at the time at which he wrote the whole of the ancient kingdom 
of David, Judah included, was in the possession of Israel. 



186 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

prosperity, now transferred their homage to Israel. Moab 
alone offered any serious resistance. It had preserved its 
independence ever since the reign of Mesha, having escaped 
from being drawn into the wars which had laid waste 
the rest of Syria. It was now suddenly forced to pay the 
penalty of its long prosperity. Jeroboam made a furious 
onslaught upon its cities Ar of Moab, Kir of Moab, Dibon, 
Medeba, Heshbon, Elealeh and destroyed them all in 
succession. The Moabite forces carried a part of the 
population with them in their flight, and all escaped to 
gether across the deserts which enclose the southern basin 
of the Dead Sea. On the frontier of Edom they begged 
for sanctuary, but the King of Judah, to whom the Edomite 
valleys belonged, did not dare to shelter the vanquished 
enemies of his suzerain, and one of his prophets, forgetting 
his hatred of Israel in delight at being able to gratify his 
grudge against Moab, greeted them in their distress with a 
hymn of joy " I will water thee with my tears, Heshbon 
Elealeh : for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest 
the battle shout is fallen. And gladness is taken away and 
joy out of the fruitful fields ; and in the vineyards there shall 
be no singing, neither joyful noise ; no treader shall tread 
out wine in the presses ; I have made the vintage shout to 
cease. Wherefore my bowels sound like an harp for Moab, 
and my inward parts for Kir-Heres. And it shall come to 
pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth 
himself upon the high place, and shall come to his 
sanctuary to pray, he shall not prevail ! " 1 

1 Isa. xv. 1-9 ; xvi. 1-12. This prophecy, which had been pronounced 
against Moab "in the old days," and which is appropriated by Isaiah 



INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE 187 

This revival, like the former greatness of David and 
Solomon, was due not so much to any inherent energy 
on the part of Israel, as to the weakness of the nations 
on its frontiers. Egypt was not in the habit of intervening 
in the quarrels of Asia, and Assyria was suffering from a 
temporary eclipse. Damascus had suddenly collapsed, 
and Hadrach or "Mansuati, the cities which sought to take 
its place, found themselves fully employed in repelling the 
intermittent attacks of the Assyrian ; the Hebrews, for a 
quarter of a century, therefore, had the stage to themselves, 
there being no other actors to dispute their possession of 
it. During the three hundred years of their existence as 
a monarchy they had adopted nearly all the laws and 
customs of the races over whom they held sway, and by 
whom they were completely surrounded. The bulk of the 
people devoted themselves to the pasturing and rearing of 
cattle, and, during the better part of the year, preferred 
to live in tents, unless war rendered such a practice 
impossible. 1 They had few industries save those of the 
potter 2 and the smith, 3 and their trade was almost entirely 

(xvi. 13, 14), has been attributed to Jonah, son of Amittai, of Gath-Hepher, 
who actually lived in the time of Jeroboam II. (2 Kings xiv. 25). It is now 
generally recognised as the production of an anonymous Judsean prophet, 
and the earliest authentic fragment of prophetic literature which has come 
down to us. 

1 Cf. the passage in 2 Kings xiii. 5, " And the children of Israel dwelt 
in their tents as beforetime." Although the word ohel had by that time 
acquired the more general meaning of habitation, the context here seems to 
require us to translate it by its original meaning tent. 

2 Pottery is mentioned in 2 Sam. xvii. 28 ; numerous fragments 
dating from the monarchical period have been found at Jerusalem and 
Lachish. 

3 The story of Tubal-Cain (Gen. iv. 22) shows the antiquity of the 



188 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



in the hands of foreigners. We find, however, Hebrew 
merchants in Egypt, 1 at Tyre, and in Coele-Syria, and they 
were so numerous at Damascus that they requested that a 
special bazaar might be allotted to them, similar to that 
occupied by the merchants of Damascus in Samaria from 
time immemorial. 2 The Hebrew monarchs had done their 
best to encourage this growing desire for 
trade. It was only the complicated state of 

Syrian politics that 
prevented them 
from following the 
example of Solo 
mon, and opening 
communications 
by sea with the 
far-famed coun 
tries of Ophir, 
either in competition with the Phoenicians or under 
their guidance. Indeed, as we have seen, Jehoshaphat, 
encouraged by his alliance with the house of Omri, tried 
to establish a seagoing fleet, but found that peasants could 
not be turned into sailors at a day s notice, and the vessel 
built by him at Eziongeber was wrecked before it left the 

ironworker s art among the Israelites; the smith is practically the only 
artisan to be found amongst nomadic tribes. 

1 The accurate ideas on the subject of Egypt possessed by the earliest 
compilers of the traditions contained in Genesis and Exodus, prove that 
Hebrew merchants must have been in constant communication with that 
country about the time with which we are now concerned. 

2 1 Kings xx. 34; cf. what has been said on this point in vol. vi. 
pp. 432, 441. 

3 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from sketches by Warren. 





SPECIMENS OF HEBKEW POTTERY. 3 



ARCHITECTURE OF THE HEBREW TOWNS 189 

harbour. 1 In appearance, the Hebrew towns closely 
resembled the ancient Canaanite cities. Egyptian 
influences still predominated in their architecture, as may 
be seen from what is still left of the walls of Lachish, and 
they were fortified in such a way as to be able to defy 
the military engines of besiegers. This applies not only 
to capitals, like Jerusalem, Tirzah, and Samaria, but even 




ISRAELITES OF THE HIGHER CLASS IX THE TIME OF SHALMAXESER III. 

to those towns which commanded a road or mountain pass, 
the ford of a river, or the entrance to some fertile plain ; 
there were scores of these on the frontiers of the two 
kingdoms, and in those portions of their territory which 
lay exposed to the attacks of Damascus, Moab, Edom, or 
the Philistines. 1 The daily life of the inhabitants was, 

1 1 Kings xxii. 49, 50 ; 2 Chron. xx. 35-37 ; cf. p. 120, supra. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bas-reliefs of the Black 
Obelisk. 

3 2 Chron. xi. G-10, where we find a list of the towns fortified by 



190 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

to all intents, the same as at Arpad, Sidon, or Gaza ; and 
the dress, dwellings, and customs of the upper and middle 
classes cannot have differed in any marked degree from 
those of the corresponding grades of society in Syria. The 




JUDJEAN PEASANTS. 1 

men wore over their tunic a fringed kaffcan, with short 
sleeves, open in front, a low-crowned hat, and sandals or 

Rehoboam : Bethlehem, Etam, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, 
Ziph, Adorairn, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Ajalon, Hebron. 

Drawn by Boudier, from Layard. These figures are taken from 
a bas-relief which represents Sennacherib receiving the submission of Judah 
before Lachish. 



PRIVATE LIFE OF THE HEBREWS 



191 



shoes of pliant leather; l they curled their beards and hair, 

painted their eyes and cheeks, and wore many jewels ; 

while their wives adopted 

all the latest refinements 

in vogue in the harems 

of Damascus, Tyre, or 

Nineveh. 2 Descendants 

of ancient families paid 

for all this luxury out of 

the revenues of the wide 

domains they had in 

herited ; others kept it up 

by less honourable means, 

by usury, corruption, and 

by the exercise of a ruth 

less violence towards 

neighbours who were un 

able to defend themselves. 

The king himself set them 

an evil example, and did 

not hesitate to assassinate 

one of his subjects in order 

that he might seize a vine 

yard which he COVeted ; 3 




WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF 



1 The kaftan met with in these parts seems to correspond to the meH 
(R.V. "ephod ") of the biblical texts (1 Sam. ii. 19 ; xviii. 4, etc.). 

2 Isa. iii. 16-24 describes in detail the whole equipment of jewels, paint, 
and garments required by the fashionable women of Jerusalem during the 
last thirty years of the eighth century B.C. 

3 Of. the well-known episode of Naboth and Ahab in 1 Kings xxi. 

4 Drawn by Boudier, from Layard, 



192 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

it was not to be wondered at, therefore, that the nobles of 
Ephraim " sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a 
pair of shoes ; " l that they demanded gifts of wheat, and 
" turned the needy from their right when they sat as a 
jury "at the gate." 2 From top to bottom of the social 
ladder the stronger and wealthier oppressed those who were 
weaker or poorer than themselves, leaving them with no 
hope of redress except at the hands of the king. 3 Un 
fortunately, the king, when he did not himself set the 
example of oppression, seldom possessed the resources 
necessary to make his decisions effective. True, he was 
chief of the most influential family in either Judah or 
Israel, a chief by divine appointment, consecrated by the 
priests and prophets of Jahveh, a priest of the Lord, 4 and 
he was master in his own city of Jerusalem or Samaria, 
but his authority did not extend far beyond the walls. 
It was not the old tribal organisation that embarrassed 
him, for the secondary tribes had almost entirely given 
up their claims to political independence. The division 
of the country into provinces, a consequence of the 
establishment of financial districts by Solomon, had broken 
them up, and they gradually gave way before the two 
houses of Ephraim and Judah ; but the great landed 

1 Amos ii. 6. 2 Amos v. 11, 12. 

3 2 Kings vi. 26-30 ; viii. 3-8, where, in both instances, it is a woman 
who appeals to the king. Of. for the period of David and Solomon, 2 Sam. 
xiv. 1-20, and 1 Kings ill 16-27. 

4 Of. the anointing of Saul (1 Sam. ix. 16; x. 1 ; and xiv. 1), of David 
(1 Sam. xvi. 1-3, 12, 13), of Solomon (1 Kings i. 34, 39, 45), of Jehu 
(2 Kings ix. 1-10), and compare it with the unction received by the priests 
on their admission to the priesthood (Exod. xxix. 7 ; xxx. 22, 23 ; cf. 
Lev. viii. 12, 30 ; x. 7). 



THE KING S BODY-GUARD 193 

proprietors, especially those who held royal fiefs, enjoyed 
almost unlimited power within their own domains. They 
were, indeed, called on to render military service, to furnish 
forced labour, and to pay certain trifling dues into the 
royal treasury ; l hut, otherwise, they were absolute masters 
in their own domains, and the sovereign was obliged to 
employ force if he wished to extort any tax or act of 
homage which they were unwilling to render. For this 
purpose he had a standing army distributed in strong 
detachments along the frontier, but the flower of his forces 
was concentrated round the royal residence to serve as a 
body-guard. It included whole companies of foreign 
mercenaries, like those Cretan and Carian warriors who, 
since the time of David, had kept guard round the Kings 
of Judah ; 2 these, in time of war, 3 were reinforced by 
militia, drawn entirely from among the landed proprietors, 
and the whole force, when commanded by an energetic 
leader, formed a host capable of meeting on equal terms 
the armies of Damascus, Edom, or Moab, or even the 
veterans of Egypt and Assyria. The reigning prince was 
hereditary commander-in-chief, but the shar zaba, or 
captain of the troops, often took his place, as in the time 

1 1 Kings xv. 22 (cf. 2 Chron. xvi. 6), where "King Asa made a 
proclamation unto all Judah ; none was exempted," the object in this case 
being the destruction of Ramah, the building of which had been begun by 
Baasha. 

The Carians or Cretans are again referred to in the history of Athaliah 
(2 Kings xi. 4). 

3 Taking the tribute paid by Menahem to Pul (2 Kings xv. 19, 20) as a 
basis, it has been estimated that the owners of landed estate in Israel, who 
were in that capacity liable to render military service, numbered 60,000 in 
the time of that king ; all others were exempt from military service. 

VOL. VII. 



194 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

of David, and thereby became the most important person 
in the kingdom. More than one of these officers had 
already turned against their sovereign the forces which 
he had entrusted to them, and these revolts, when crowned 
with success, had, on various occasions, in Israel at any 
rate, led to a change of dynasty : Omri had been sliar zaba 
wiien he mutinied against Zimri, the assassin of Elah, and 
Jehu occupied the same position when Elisha deputed him 
to destroy the house of Omri. 

The political constitutions of Judah and Israel were, on 
the whole, very similar to those of the numerous states 
which shared the territory of Syria between them, and 
their domestic history gives us a fairly exact idea of the 
revolutions which agitated Damascus, Hamath, Carchemish, 
Arpad, and the principalities of Amanos and Lebanon 
about the same period. It would seem, however, that none 
of these other nations possessed a literary or religious life 
of any great intensity. They had their archives, it is true, 
in which were accumulated documents relating to their 
past history, their rituals of theology and religious worship, 
their collections of hymns and national songs ; but none of 
these have survived, and the very few inscriptions that have 
come down to us merely show that they had nearly all of 
them adopted the alphabet invented by the Phoenicians. 
The Israelites, initiated by them into the art of writing, 
lost no time in setting down, in their turn, all they could 
recall of the destinies of their race from the creation of the 
world down to the time in which they lived. From the 
beginning of the monarchical epoch onwards, their scribes 
collected together in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, the 



DAWN OF HEBREW LITERATURE 195 

Book of Jashar, and in other works the titles of which have not 
survived, lyrics of different dates, in which nameless poets 
had sung the victories and glorious deeds of their national 
heroes, such as the Song of the Well, the Hymn of Moses, 
the triumphal Ode of Deborah, and the blessing of Jacob. 1 
They were able to draw upon traditions which preserved 
the memory of what had taken place in the time of the 
Judges ; 2 and when that patriarchal form of government 
was succeeded by a monarchy, they had narratives of the 
ark of the Lord and its wanderings, of Samuel, Saul, David, 
and Solomon, 3 not to mention the official records which, 

1 The books of Jashar and of the Wars of the Lord appear to date from 
the IX th century B.C. ; as the latter is quoted in the Elohist narrative, 
it cannot have been compiled later than the beginning of the VIII th century 
B.C. The passage in Numb. xxi. 146, 15, is the only one expressly attributed 
by the testimony of the ancients to the Boole of the Wars of the Lord, 
but modern writers add to this the Song of the Well (Numb. xxi. 176, 18), 
and the Song of Victory over Moab (Numb. xxi. 276-30). The Sony of the 
Bow (2 Sam. i. 19-27) admittedly formed part of the Book of Jashar. 
Joshua s Song of Victory over the Amorites (Josh. x. 13), and very probably 
the couplet recited by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings viii. 
12, 13, placed by the LXX. after verse 53), also formed part of it, as also 
the Song of Deborah and the Blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix. 1-27). 

2 Wellhausen was the first to admit the existence of a Book of Judges 
prior to the epoch of Deuteronomy, and his opinion has been adopted by 
Kuenen and Driver. This book was probably drawn upon by the two 
historians of the IX th and VIII th centuries B.C. of whom we are about to 
speak ; some of the narratives, such as the story of Abimelech, and possibly 
that of Ehud, may have been taken from a document written at the end of 
the X th or the beginning of the IX th centuries B.C. 

3 The revolutions which occurred in the family of David (2 Sam. 
ix.-xx.) bear so evident a stamp of authenticity that they have been 
attributed to a contemporary writer, perhaps Ahimaaz, son of Zadok 
(2 Sam. xv. 27), who took part in the events in question. But apart from 
this, the existence is generally admitted of two or three books which were 
drawn up shortly after the separation of the tribes, containing a kind 



196 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

since then, had been continuously produced and accumu 
lated by the court historians. 1 It may be that more than 
one writer had already endeavoured to evolve from these 
materials an Epic of Jahveh and His faithful people, but in 
the second half of the IX th century B.C., perhaps in the 
time of Jehoshaphat, a member of the tribe of Judah 
undertook to put forth a fresh edition. 2 He related how 
God, after creating the universe out of chaos, had chosen 
His own people, and had led them, after trials innumerable, 
to the conquest of the Promised Land. He showed, as he 
went on, the origin of the tribes identified with the 
children of Israel, and the covenants made by Jahveh with 
Moses in the Arabian desert ; while accepting the stories 
connected with the ancient sanctuaries of the north and 
east at Shechem, Bethel, Peniel, Mahauaim, and Succoth, 
it was at Hebron in Judah that he placed the principal 
residence of Abraham and his descendants. His style, 
while simple and direct, is at the same time singularly 
graceful and vivacious ; the incidents he gives are carefully 
selected, apt and characteristic, while his narrative passes 
from scene to scene without trace of nagging, unburdened 

of epic of the history of the first two kings ; the one dealing with Saul, for 
instance, was probably written in the time of Jeroboam. 

1 The two lists in which the names of the principal personages at the 
court of David are handed down to us, mention a certain Jehoshaphat, 
son of Ahilud, who was mazkir, or recorder; he retained his post under 
Solomon (1 Kings iv. 3). 

2 The approximate date of the composition and source of this first 
Jehovist is still an open question. Reuss and Kuenen, not to mention 
others, believe the Jehovist writer to have been a native of the northern 
kingdom ; I have adopted the opposite view, which is supported by most 
modern critics. 



THE TWO HISTORIANS OF ISRAEL 197 

by useless details, and his dialogue, always natural and 
easy, rises without effort from the level of familiar con 
versation to heights of impassioned eloquence. His aim 
was not merely to compile the history of his people : he 
desired at the same time to edify them, by showing how sin 
first came into the world through disobedience to the 
commandments of the Most High, and how man, prosperous 
so long as he kept to the laws of the covenant, fell into 
difficulties as soon as he transgressed or failed to respect 
them. His concept of Jahveh is in the highest degree a 
concrete one : he regards Him as a Being superior to other 
beings, but made like unto them and moved by the same 
passions. He shows anger and is appeased, displays 
sorrow and repents Him of the evil. 1 When the descend 
ants of Noah build a tower and a city, He draws nigh 
to examine what they have done, and having taken account 
of their work, confounds their language and thus prevents 
them from proceeding farther. 2 He desires, later on, to 
confer a favour on His servant Abraham : He appears to 
him in human form, and eats and drinks with him. 3 
Sodom and Gomorrah had committed abominable iniquities, 
the cry against them was great and their sin very grievous : 
but before punishing them, He tells Abraham that He will 
go down and see whether they have done according to the 
cry of it which is come unto Me ; and if not, I will know." 4 

Exod. iv. 14 and xxxii. 10, anger of Jahveh against Moses and against 
Israel ; Gen. vi. G, 7, where He repents and is sorry for having created 
man; and Exod. xxxii. 14, where He repents Him of the evil He had 
intended to do unto Israel. 

8 Gen. xi. 5-8. 3 en _ xv iii. 

4 Gen. xviii. and xix. 



198 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Elsewhere He wrestles a whole night long with Jacob ; l or 
falls upon Moses, seeking to kill him, until appeased by 
Zipporah, who casts the blood-stained foreskin of her child 
at her husband s feet. 2 This book, though it breathes the 
spirit of the prophets and was perhaps written in one of 
their schools, did not, however, include all the current 
narratives, and omitted many traditions that were passing 
from lip to lip ; moreover, the excessive materialism of its 
treatment no longer harmonised with that more idealised 
concept of the Deity which had already begun to prevail. 
Consequently, within less than a century of its appearance, 
more than one version containing changes and interpolations 
in the narrative came to be circulated, 3 till a scribe of 
Ephraim, who flourished in the time of Jeroboam II., took 
up the subject and dealt with it in a different fashion. 4 
Putting on one side the primitive accounts of the origin of 

i Gen. xxxii. 24, 25. 2 Exod. iv. 24-2G. 

3 Schrader and Wellhausen have drawn attention to contradictions in 
the primitive history of humanity as presented by the Jehovist which 
forbid us to accept it as the work of a single writer. Nor can these 
inconsistencies be due to the influence of the Elohist, since the latter 
did not deal with this period in his book. Budde has maintained that the 
primitive work contained no account of the Deluge, and traced the descent 
of all the nations, Israel included, back to Cain, and he declares he can 
detect in the earlier chapters of Genesis traces of a first Jehovist, whom he 
calls J 1 . A second Jehovist, J 2 , who flourished between 800 and 700 B.C., is 
supposed to have added to the contribution of the first, certain details 
borrowed from the Babylonian tradition, such as the Deluge, the story of 
Noah, of Nimrod, etc. Finally, a third Jehovist is said to have thrown 
the versions of his two predecessors into one, taking J 2 as the basis of 

his work. 

4 The date and origin of the Elohist have given rise to no less 
controversy than those of the Jehovist : the view most generally adopted is 
that he was a native of the northern kingdom, and flourished about 750 B.C. 



IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY B.C. 199 

the human race which his predecessors had taken pleasure 
in elaborating, he confined his attention solely to events 
since the birth of Abraham ; 1 his origin is betrayed by the 
preference he displays for details calculated to natter the 
self-esteem of the northern tribes. To his eyes, Joseph is 
the noblest of all the sons of Jacob, before whom all the 
rest must bow their heads, as to a king ; next to Joseph 
comes Reuben, to whom rather than to Judah 2 he gives 
the place as firstborn. He groups his characters round 
Bethel and Shechem, the sanctuaries of Israel ; even 
Abraham is represented as residing, not at Hebron in 
Judaea, but at Beersheba, a spot held in deep veneration 
by pilgrims belonging to the ten tribes. 3 It is in his 
concept of the Supreme Being, however, that he differs 
most widely from his predecessors. God is, according to 
him, widely removed from ordinary humanity. He no 
longer reveals Himself at all times and in all places, hut 
works rather by night, and appears to men in their dreams, 
or, when circumstances require His active interference, is 
content to send His angels rather than come in His own 
person. 4 Indeed, such cases of active interference are of 
rare occurrence, and He prefers to accomplish His purpose 

1 Buckle seems to have proved conclusively that the Elohist did not 
write any part of the primitive history of mankind. 

2 Gen. xxxvii. 21, 22, 29, 30; xlii. 22, 27; whereas in Gen. xliii. 3, 
8-10, where the narrative is from the pen of the Jehovist, it is Judah that 
plays the principal part: it is possible that, in Gen. xxxvii. 21, Reuben has 
been substituted in the existing text for Judah. 

3 Gen. xxi. 31, 33 ; xxii. 19 ; the importance of Beersheba as a holy 
place resorted to by pilgrims from the northern kingdom is shown in 1 Kings 
xix. 3, and Amos v. 5 ; viii. 14. 

4 Gen. xx. 3-8 ; xxviii. 11-15 ; xxxi 24 ; Numb. xxii. 8-12, 20. 



200 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

through human agents, who act unconsciously, or even in 
direct contravention of their own clearly expressed inten 
tions. 1 Moreover it was only by degrees that He revealed 
His true nature and title ; the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, and Joseph, had called Him Elohim, or " the gods," 
and it was not until the coming of Moses that He disclosed 
His real name of Jahveh to His worshippers. 2 In a word, 
this new historian shows us in every line that the 
theological instinct has superseded popular enthusiasm, 
and his work loses unmistakably in literary interest by the 
change. We feel that he is wanting in feeling and inspi 
ration ; his characters no longer palpitate with life ; his 
narrative drags, its interest decreases, and his language 
is often deficient in force and colour. 

But while writers, trained in the schools of the prophets, 
thus sought to bring home to the people the benefits which 
their God had showered on them, the people themselves 
showed signs of disaffection towards Him, or were, at any 
rate, inclined to associate with Him other gods borrowed 
from neighbouring states, and to overlay the worship they 
rendered Him with ceremonies and ideas inconsistent with 
its original purity. The permanent division of the nation 
into two independent kingdoms had had its effect on their 
religion as well as on their political life, and had separated 
the worshippers into two hostile camps. The inhabitants 
of Judah still continued to build altars on their high places, 

1 Gen. \. 20, end of the story of Joseph : " And as for you, ye meant 
evil against me ; but God meant it for good, to bring it to pass as it is this 
day, to save much people alive." 

2 Exod. iii. 13, 14 ; verse 15 is an interpolation of much later date. 



Prayer at Sunset 

After Painting by Gerome 



THE PRIESTHOOD OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL 201 

as they had done in the time before David ; there, the 
devout prostrated themselves before the sacred stones and 
before the Asherah, or went in unto the kedesJioth in honour 
of Astarte, and in Jahveh s own temple at Jerusalem they 
had set up the image of a brazen serpent to which they 
paid homage. 1 The feeling, however, that the patron deity 
of the chosen people could have but one recognised 
habitation the temple built for Him by Solomon and 
that the priests of this temple were alone qualified to 
officiate there in an effective manner, came to prevail more 
and more strongly in Judaea. The king, indeed, continued 
to offer sacrifices and prayer there, 2 but the common people 
could no longer intercede with their God except through 
the agency of the priests. The latter, in their turn, tended 
to develop into a close corporation of families consecrated 
for generations past to the priestly office ; they came in 
time to form a tribe by themselves, which took rank among 
the other tribes of Israel, and claimed Levi, one of the 
twelve sons of Jacob, as its ancestor. Their head, chosen 

1 Cf. what we are told of idolatrous practices in Judah under Rehoboain 
and Abijam (1 Kings xiv. 22-24; xv. 3), and of the tolerance of high 
places by Asa and Jehoshaphat (1 Kings xv. 14; xxii. 44); even at the 
period now under consideration neither Amaziah (2 Kings xiv. 4) nor 
Azariah (2 Kings xv. 4) showed any disposition to prohibit them. The 
brazen serpent was still in existence in the time of Hezekiah, at the close of 
the VHP" century B.C. (2 Kings xviii. 4). 

2 2 Kings xvi. 10-16, where Ahaz is described as offering sacrifice and 
giving instructions to the high priest Urijah as to the reconstruction and 
service of the altar ; cf. 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21, where similar conduct on the 
part of Uzziah is recorded, and where the leprosy by which he was attacked 
is, in accordance with the belief of later times, represented as a punishment 
of the sacrilege committed by him in attempting to perform the sacrifice 
in person. 



202 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

from among the descendants of Zadok, who had been the 
first high priest in the reign of Solomon, was by virtue of 
his office one of the chief ministers of the crown, and we 
know what an important part was played by Jehoiadah in 
the revolution which led to the deposition of Athaliah ; the 
high priest was, however, no less subordinate to the supreme 
power than his fellow-ministers, and the sanctity of his 
office did not avail to protect him from ill-treatment or 
death if he incurred the displeasure of his sovereign. 1 He 
had control over a treasury continually enriched by the 
offerings of the faithful, and did not always turn his trust 
to the best uses ; in times of extreme distress the king used 
to borrow from him as a last resource, in order to bring 
about the withdrawal of an invader, or purchase the help of 
a powerful ally. 2 The capital of Israel was of too recent 
foundation to allow of its chapel royal becoming the official 
centre of national worship ; the temple and priesthood of 
Samaria never succeeded in effacing the prestige enjoyed 
by the ancient oracles, though in the reign of both the first 
and second Jeroboam, Dan, Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah had 
each its band of chosen worshippers. 3 At these centres 

1 In order to form an idea of the relative positions occupied by the king 
and the high priest, we must read what is told of Jehoiadah and Joash 
(2 Kings xii. 6-16), or Urijah and Ahaz (2 Kings xvi. 10-16) ; the story 
runs that Zechariah was put to death by Joash (2 Chron. xxiv. 22). 

2 Asa did so in order to secure Ben-hadad s help against Baasha (1 
Kings xv. 18, 19 ; cf. 2 Chron. xvi. 2, 3) : as to the revenues by which 
the treasury of the temple was supported and the special dues appropriated 
to it, cf. 2 Kings xii. 4, 5, 7-16, and xxii. 4-7, 9. 

3 In the time of Jeroboam II., Bethel, Gilgal, and Dan are mentioned 
by Amos (iv. 4 ; v. 5, 6; viii. 14), by Hosea (iv. lo ; ix. lo ; xii. 12). 
Mizpah is mentioned by Hosea (v. 1), and so is Tabor. The altar of Jahveh 
on Mount Carmel was restored by Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 30). 



REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN THE TEMPLES 203 

adoration was rendered to the animal presentment of 
Jahveh, 1 and even prophets like Elijah and Elisha did not 
condemn this as heretical ; they had enough to do in 
hunting down the followers of Baal without entering into 
open conflict with the worshippers of the golden calf. The 
priesthood of the northern kingdom was not confined to 
members of the family of Levi, but was recruited from all 
the tribes ; it levied a tithe on the harvest, reserved to 
itself the pick of the offerings and victims, and jealously 
forbade a plurality of sanctuaries. 2 The Book of the 



-*<**$ >r\ 1 _^^-*- 

^f^ &&T- 
g , ^-4 . CEi 




EGYPTIAN ALTAE AT DEIR-EL-BAHAKI. 3 

Covenant 4 has handed down to us the regulations in force 
at one of these temples, perhaps that of Bethel, one of the 

1 The golden calves at Dan and Bethel are referred to by Amos 
(viii. 14) and Hosea (x. 5), where Bethel is called Beth-aven ; as to the 
golden calf at Samaria, cf. Amos viii. 14 and Hos. viii. 5, 6. 

2 Amos iv. 4, 5 ; v. 21-23. 

3 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a restoration by Naville. 

4 This is the title given in Exod. xxiv. 7 to a writing in which Moses is 
said to have entered the covenant made between Jahveh and Israel ; 
it is preserved, with certain interpolations and alterations, in Exod. xx. 23 

xxiii. 33. It was inserted in its entirety in the Elohist narrative, there 
taking the place at present occupied by Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, 
viz. that of the covenant made between Jahveh and Israel prior to the 
crossing of the Jordan (KusNEX, H. C. Onderzoeh, i. 13, No. 32). Reuss 
tries to make out that it was the code promulgated on the occasion of 
Jehoshaphat s legal reforms, which is only referred to in 2 Citron, xvii. 
7-9 ; cf. xix. 5. A more probable theory is that it was the " custom " of 
one of the great sanctuaries of the northern kingdom reduced to writing at 
the end of the X th or during the IX th century B.C. 



204 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

wealthiest of them all. The directions in regard to ritual 
are extremely simple, and the moral code is based through 
out on the inexorable lex talionis, " Life for life, eye for eye, 
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for 
burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." * This brief 
code must have been almost universally applicable to 
every conjuncture of civil and religious life in Judah no 
less than in Israel. On one point only do we find a 
disagreement, and that is in connection with the one and 
only Holy of Holies to the possession of which the southern 
kingdom had begun to lay claim : in a passage full of 
significance Jahveh declares, " An altar of earth thou shalt 
make unto Me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt 
offerings and thy peace offerings, thy sheep and thine 
oxen : in every place where I record My name I will come 
unto thee and I will bless thee. And if thou make Me an 
altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones : for if 
thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither 
shalt thou go up by steps unto Mine altar, that thy naked 
ness be not discovered thereon." 2 The patriarchs and 
early ancestors of the race had performed their sacrifices in 
the open air, on rude and low altars, differing widely from 
lofty and elaborately ornamented erections like those at 
Jerusalem, which seem to have borne a resemblance to the 
altars of the Egyptians : the author of the Book of the 
Covenant advises the faithful to follow the example of those 
great men rather than that of the Levites of Judah. 
Nevertheless this multiplicity of high places was not 
without its dangers ; it led the common people to confuse 
1 Exod. xxi. 23-25. 2 Exod. xx. 24-2G. 



THE STATUS OF THE PROPHETS 205 

Jahveh with the idols of Canaan, and encouraged the 
spread of foreign superstitions. The misfortunes which had 
come thick and fast upon the Israelites ever since the 
division of the kingdom had made them only too ready to 
seek elsewhere that support and consolation which they 
could no longer find at home. The gods of Damascus and 
Assur who had caused the downfall of Grath, of Calneh, and 

A 

of Hamath, 1 those of Tyre and Sidon who lavished upon 
the Phoenicians the wealth of the seas, or even the deities 
of Ammon, Moab, or Edorn, might well appear more desir 
able than a Being Who, in spite of His former promises, 
seemed powerless to protect His own people. A number 
of the Israelites transferred their allegiance to these 
powerful deities, prostrated themselves before the celestial 
host, flocked round the resting-places of Kevan, the star 
of El, and carried the tabernacles of the King of heaven ; 2 
nor was Judah slow to follow their example. The prophets, 
however, did not view their persistent ill-fortune in the 
same light as the common people ; far from accepting it as 
a proof of the power of other divinities, they recognised in it 
a mark of Jahveh s superiority. In their eyes Jahveh was 
the one God, compared with Whom the pagan deities were 
no gods at all, and could not even be said to exist. He 
might, had He so willed it, have bestowed His protection 
on any one of the numerous races whom He had planted 
on the earth : but as a special favour, which He was under 
no obligation to confer, He had chosen Israel to be His 
own people, and had promised them that they should 

1 Amos vi. 2 ; with regard to the destruction of Gath by Hazael. 

2 Amos v. 26, 27. 



206 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

occupy Canaan so long as they kept free from sin. But 
Israel had sinned, Israel had followed after idols ; its mis 
fortunes were, therefore, but the just penalty of its unfaith 
fulness. Thus conceived, Jahveh ceased to be merely the 
god of a nation He became the God of the whole world ; 
and it is in the guise of a universal Deity that some, at any 
rate, of the prophets begin to represent Him from the time 
of Jeroboam II. onwards. 

This change of view in regard to the Being of Jahveh 
coincided with a no less marked alteration in the character 
of His prophets. At first they had taken an active part 
in public affairs ; they had thrown themselves into the 
political movements of the time, and had often directed 
their course, 1 by persuasion when persuasion sufficed, by 
violence when violence was the only means that was left 
to them of enforcing the decrees of the Most High. Not 
long before this, we find Elisha secretly conspiring against 

1 Cf. the part taken by Nathan in the conspiracy which raised Solomon 
to the throne (1 Kings i. 8, et seq.), and previous to this in the story 
of David s amour with Bathsheba (2 Sam. xii. 1-25). Similarly, we find 
prophets such as Ahijah in the reign of Jeroboam I. (1 Kings xi. 29-39 ; 
cf. xiv. 1-18 ; xv. 29, 30), and Shemaiah in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 
xii. 22-24), Jehu son of Hananiah under Baasha (1 Kings xvi. 1-4, 7, 
12, 13), Micaiah son of Imla, and Zedekiah under Ahab (1 Kings xxii. 
5-28), not to speak of those mentioned in the Chronicles, e.g. Azariah son of 
Oded (2 Citron, xv. 1-8), and Hanani under Asa (2 Cliron. xvi. 7-10), 
Jahaziel (2 Cliron. xx. 14-19), and Eliezer, son of Dodavahu (2 Chron. 
xx. 37), in the time of Jehoshaphat. No trace of any writings composed 
by these prophets is found until a very late date ; but in Chronicles, in 
addition to a letter from Elijah to Jehoram of Juda (2 Chron. xxi. 12-15), 
we find a reference to the commentary of the prophet Iddo in the time of 
Abijah (2 Chron. xiii. 22), and to the " History of Jehu the son of Hanani, 
which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel " (2 Chron. xx. 34), in 
the time of Jehoshaphat. 



AMOS OF TEKOA 207 



the successors of Aliab, and taking a decisive part in the 
revolution which set the house of Jehu on the throne in 
place of that of Omri ; but during the half-century which 
had elapsed since his death, the revival in the fortunes of 
Israel and its growing prosperity under the rule of an 
energetic king had furnished the prophets with but few 
pretexts for interfering in the conduct of state affairs. 
They no longer occupied themselves in resisting the king, 
but addressed themselves to the people, pointed out the 
heinousness of their sins, and threatened them with the 
wrath of Jahveh if they persisted in their unfaithfulness : 
they carne to be spiritual advisers rather than political 
partisans, and orators rather than men of action like their 
predecessors. Their discourses were carefully prepared 
beforehand, and were written down either by themselves 
or by some of their disciples for the benefit of posterity, 
in the hope that future generations would understand the 
dangers or witness the catastrophes which their contem 
poraries might not live to see About 760 B.C., Amos of 
Tekoa, 1 a native of Judaoa, suddenly made his appearance 
at Bethel, in the midst of the festivals which pilgrims had 
flocked to celebrate in the ancient temple erected to 
Jahveh in one of His animal forms. His opening words 
filled the listening crowd with wonder : " The high places 
of Isaac shall be desolate," he proclaimed, " and the 
sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste ; and I will rise 

1 The title of the Book of Amos fixes the date as being "in the days of 
Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king 
of Israel" (i. 1), and the state of affairs described by him corresponds 
pretty closely with what we know of this period. Most critics fix the 
date somewhere between 760 and 750 B.C., but nearer 760 than 750. 



208 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

against the house of Jerohoam with the sword," Yet 
Jeroboam had by this time gained all his victories, and 
never before had the King of Samaria appeared to be more 
firmly seated on the throne : what, then, did this intruder 
mean by introducing himself as a messenger of wrath in 
the name of Jahveh, at the very moment when Jahveh 
was furnishing His worshippers with abundant signs of His 
favour ? Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, interrupted him as 
he went on to declare that " Jeroboam should die by the 
sword, and Israel should surely be led away captive out 
of his land." The king, informed of what was going on, 

ordered Amos into exile, and Amaziah undertook to com- 



municate this sentence to him : " thou seer, go, flee 
thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, 
and prophesy there : but prophesy not again any more at 
Bethel : for it is the king s sanctuary, and it is a royal 
house." And Amos replied, "I was no prophet, neither 
was I a prophet s son ; but I was a herdman, and a dresser 
of sycomore trees : and the Lord took me from following 
the nock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto 
My people Israel. Now therefore hear thou the word of 
the Lord : Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and 
drop not thy word against the house of Isaac : therefore 
thus saith the Lord : Thy wife shall be an harlot in the 
city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the 
sword, and thy land shall be divided by line ; and thou 
thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall 
surely be led away captive out of his land." This 
prophecy, first expanded, and then written down with a 
1 Amos vii. 9, 2 Amos vii. 9-17. 



THE PROPHECY OF AMOS AT BETHEL 209 

purity of diction and loftiness of thought which prove 
Amos to have been a master of literary art, 1 was widely 
circulated, and gradually gained authority as portents 
indicative of the divine wrath hegan to accumulate, such 
as an earthquake which occurred two years after the 
incident at Bethel, 2 an eclipse of the sun, drought, famine, 
and pestilence. 3 It foretold, in the first place, the down 
fall of all the surrounding countries Damascus, Gaza, 
Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah ; then, denouncing 
Israel itself, condemned it to the same penalties for the 
same iniquities. In vain did the latter plead its privileges 
as the chosen people of Jahveh, and seek to atone for its 
guilt by endless sacrifices. " I hate, I despise your feasts," 
declared Jahveh, " and I will take no delight in your 
solemn assemblies. Yea, though ye offer Me your burnt 
offerings and meat offerings, I will not accept them : 
neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat 
beasts. Take thou away from Me the noise of thy 
songs ; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But 
let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness 
as a mighty stream." 4 The unfaithfulness of Israel, 
the corruption of its cities, the pride of its nobles, had 
sealed its doom ; even at that moment the avenger was 

1 S. Jerome describes Amos as "rusticus" and "imperitus sermone, " but 
modern writers are generally agreed that in putting forward this view 
he was influenced by the statement as to the peasant origin of the prophet. 

Amos i. 1 ; reference is made to it by the unknown prophet whose 
words are preserved in Zcch. xiv. 5. 

3 The famine is mentioned in Amos iv. 6, the drought in Amos iv. 7, 8, 
the pestilence in Amos iv. 10. 

4 Amos v. 21-24. 

VOL. VII. P 



210 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

at hand on its north-eastern border, the Assyrian appointed 
to carry out sentence upon it. 1 Then follow visions, each 
one of which tends to deepen the effect of the seer s words 
a cloud of locusts, 2 a devouring fire, 3 a plumh-line in the 
hands of the Lord, 4 a basket laden with summer fruit 5 
till at last the whole people of Israel take refuge in their 
temple, vainly hoping that there they may escape from 
the vengeance of the Eternal. " There shall not one of 
them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape. 
Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take 
them ; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I 
bring them down. And though they hide themselves in 
the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence ; 
and though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of 
the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall 
bite them. And though they go into captivity before their 
enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall 
slay them ; and I will set Mine eyes upon them for evil 
and not for good." 6 For the first time in history a 
prophet foretold disaster and banishment for a whole 
people : love of country was already giving place in the 

1 Most commentators admit that the nation raised up by Jahveh to 
oppress Israel " from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of the 
Arabah " (Amos vi. 14) was no other than Assyria. At the very period 
in which Amos nourished, Assurdan made two campaigns against Hadrach, 
in 765 and 755, which brought his armies right up to the Israelite 
frontier (SCHRADER, Keilinschriftliclie Bibliothek, vol. i. pp. 210-213). 

- Amos vii. 1-3. 3 Amos vii. 4-6. 

4 Amos vii. 7-9. It is here that the speech delivered by the prophet 
at Bethel is supposed to occur (vii. 9) ; the narrative of what afterwards 
happened follows immediately (Amos vii. 10-17). 

5 Amos viii. 1-3. u Amos ix. 1-4. 



DENUNCIATION OP ISRAEL BY HOSE A 211 

heart of Amos to his conviction of the universal jurisdiction 
of God, and this conviction led him to regard as possible 
and probable a state of things in which Israel should have 
no part. Nevertheless, its decadence was to be merely 
temporary ; Jahveh, though prepared to chastise the 
posterity of Jacob severely, could not bring Himself to 
destroy it utterly. The kingdom of David was soon to 
flourish anew : " Behold, the days come, salth the Lord, 
that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the 
treader of grapes him that soweth seed ; and the mountains 
shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I 
will bring again the captivity of My people Israel, and they 
shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they 
shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they 
shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I 
will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more 
be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, 
saith the Lord thy God." * 

The voice of Amos was not the only one raised in 
warning. From the midst of Ephraiin, another seer, this 
time a priest, Hosea, son of Beeri, 2 was never weary of 

1 Amos ix. 13-15. 

2 Hoshea (or Hosea) was regarded by the rabbis as the oldest of the 
lesser prophets, and his writings were placed at the head of their collected 
works. The title of his book (Ho s. i. 1), where he begins by stating that 
he preached " in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash (Jehoash), King of 
Israel," is a later interpolation ; the additional mention of Uzziah, Jotham, 
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, is due to an attempted analogy with 
the title of Isaiah. Hosea was familiar with the prophecies of Amos, and 
his own predictions show that the events merely foreseen by his predecessor 
were now in course of fulfilment in his day. The first three chapters 
probably date from the end of the reign of Jeroboam, about 750 B.C. ; the 
others were compiled under his successors, and before 734-733 B.C., since 



212 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

reproaching the tribes with their ingratitude, and persisted 
in his foretelling of the desolation to come. The halo 
of grandeur and renown with which Jeroboam had 
surrounded the kingdom could not hide its wretched 
and paltry character from the prophet s eyes ; "for yet 
a little while, and I w T ill avenge the blood of Jezreel upon 
the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the 
house of Israel to cease. And it shall come to pass at that 
day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of 
Jezreel." 1 Like his predecessor, he, too, inveighed 
against the perversity and unfaithfulness of his people. 
The abandoned wickedness of Gorner, his wife, had brought 
him to despair. In the bitterness of his heart, he demands 
of Jahveh why He should have seen fit to visit such humi 
liation on His servant, and persuades himself that the 
faithlessness of which he is a victim is but a feeble type 
of that which Jahveh had suffered at the hands of His 
people. Israel had gone a-whormg after strange gods, and 
the day of retribution for its crimes was not far distant : 
" The children of Israel shall abide many days without king 
and without prince, and without sacrifice and without 
pillar, and without ephod or teraphim ; afterward shall the 
children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and 
David their king ; and shall come with fear unto the Lord 
and to His goodness in the latter days." 2 Whether the 

Gilead is there mentioned as still forming part of Israel (Hos. vi. 8 ; xii. 12), 
though it was in that year laid waste and conquered by Tiglath-pileser III. 
Duhm has suggested that Hosea must have been a pi iest from the tone 
of his writings, and this hypothesis is generally accepted by theologians. 

1 Hos. i. 4, 5. 

2 Hos. i.-iii. Is the story of Hosea and his wife an allegory, or does it 



SYRIA REDUCED TO EXTREMITY 218 

decadence of the Hebrews was or was not due to the purely 
moral and religious causes indicated by the prophets, it 
was only too real, and even the least observant among 
their contemporaries must have suspected that the two 
kingdoms were quite unfitted, as to their numbers, their 
military organisation, and monetary reserves, to resist 
successfully any determined attack that might be made 
upon them by surrounding nations. An armed force 
entering Syria by way of the Euphrates could hardly fail 
to overcome any opposition that might be offered to it, 
if not at the first onset, at any rate after a very brief 
struggle ; none of the minor states to be met upon its way, 
such as Damascus or Israel, much less those of Hamath 
or Hadrach, were any longer capable of barring its 
progress, as Ben-hadad and Hazael had arrested that of 
the Assyrians in the time of Shalmaneser III. The efforts 
then made by the Syrian kings to secure their inde 
pendence had exhausted their resources and worn out 
the spirit of their peoples ; civil war had prevented them 
from making good their losses during the breathing-space 
afforded by the decadence of Assyria, and now that Nature 
herself had afflicted them with the crowning misfortunes 
of famine and pestilence, they were reduced to a mere 
shadow of what they had been. during the previous century. 
If, therefore, Sharduris, after making himself master of 
the countries of the Taurus and Amanos, had turned his 
steps towards the valley of the Orontes, he might have 

rest on a basis of actual fact 1 Most critics now seem to incline to the 
A^iew that the prophet has here set clown an authentic episode from his own 
career, and uses it to point the moral of his work. 



214 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

secured possession of it without much difficulty, and after 
that there would have been nothing to prevent his soldiers 
from pressing on, if need be, to the walls of Samaria or 
even of Jerusalem itself. Indeed, he seems to have at last 
made up his mind to embark on this venture, when the 
revival of Assyrian power put a stop to his ambitious 
schemes. Tiglath-pileser, hard pressed on every side by 
daring and restless foes, began by attacking those who 
were at once the most troublesome and most vulnerable 
the Aramaean tribes on the banks of the Tigris. To give 
these incorrigible banditti, who boldly planted their 
outposts not a score of leagues from his capital, a free 
hand on his rear, and brave the fortune of war in Armenia 
or Syria, without first teaching them a lesson in respect, 
would have been simply to court serious disaster; an 
Aramaean raid occurring at a time when he was engaged 
elsewhere with the bulk of his army, might have made 
it necessary to break off a successful campaign and fall 
back in haste to the relief of Nineveh or Calah (Kalakh), 
just as he was on the eve of gaining some decisive 
advantage. Moreover, the suzerainty of Assyria over 
Karduniash entailed on him the duty of safeguarding 
Babylon from that other horde of Aramaeans which 
harassed it on the east, while the Kalda were already 
threatening its southern frontier. It is not quite clear 
whether Nabunazlr who then occupied the throne implored 
his help : l at any rate, he took the field as soon as he felt 
that his own crown was secure, overthrew the Aramaeans 

1 Nabunazir is the Naboiiassar who afterwards gave his name to the era 
employed by Ptolemy. 



EARLY CAMPAIGNS IX KARDUNIASH AND MEDIA 215 

at the first encounter, and drove them back from the banks 
of the Lower Zab to those of the Uknu : all the countries 
which they had seized to the east of the Tigris at once fell 
again into the hands of the Assyrians. This first point 
gained, Tiglath-pileser crossed the river, and made a 
demonstration in force before the Babylonian fortresses. 
He visited, one after another, Sippar, Nipur, Babylon, 
Borsippa, Kuta, Klshu, Dilbat, and Uruk, " cities without 
peer," and offered in all of them sacrifices to the gods, to 
Bel, to Zirbanit, to Nebo, to Tashmit, and to Nirgal. 
Karduniash bowed down before him, but he abstained from 
giving any provocation to the Kalda, and satisfied with 
haviag convinced Nabunazir that Assyria had lost none 
of her former vigour, he made his way back to his 
hereditary kingdom. 1 The lightly-won success of this 
expedition produced the looked-for result. Tiglath-pileser 
had set out a king de facto ; but now that the gods of the 
ancient sanctuaries had declared themselves satisfied with 
his homage, and had granted him that religious consecra 
tion which had before been lacking, he returned a king 
de jure as well (745 B.C.). His next campaign completed 
what the first had begun. The subjugation of the plain 
would have been of little advantage if the highlands had 
been left in the power of tribes as yet unconquered, and 
allowed to pour down with impunity bands of rapacious 

1 Most historians believe that Tiglath-pileser entered Karduniash as an 
enemy : that he captured several towns, and allowed the others to ransom 
themselves on payment of tribute. The way in which the texts known to 
us refer to this expedition seems to me, however, to prove that he set out 
as an ally and protector of Nabonazir, and that his visit to the Babylonian 
sanctuaries was of a purely pacific nature. 



210 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

freebooters on the newly liberated provinces : security 
between the Zab and the Uknu could only be attained by 
the pacification of Namri, and it was, therefore, to Namri 
that the sea of war was transferred in 744 B.C. All the 
Cosssean and Babylonian races intermingled in the valleys 
on the frontier were put to ransom one after another. 




jfyifg*^ vt^^ ^g^ : ^^%;b^^^i 

^ ""O?>A Xc^^M$ % r-^TlT: V 

^^SMBs^*l ni^W 1 

rAMPATCVS DF ^ l A ^ /^* t -~i *%.V*- s ^R , ifk arr 

^Pwtafo&k V//-- i:r ^ V\V /x 

TIGLATH-PILESER III ^ 

""^x 



in MEDIA 



Scale 



-T.KJ -X^ 



l^wt^SffVrafr \ vW^ 

^S^^ 



These included the Bit-Sangibuti, the Bit-Khamban, the 
Barrua, the Bit-Zualzash, the Bit-Matti, the Uinliash, the 
Parsua, the Bit-Zatti, the Blt-Zabdadani, the Bit-Ishtar, 
the city of Zakruti, the Nina, the Bustus, the Arakuttu, by 
which the conqueror gradually made his way into the heart 
of Media, reaching districts into which none of his prede 
cessors had ever penetrated. Those least remote he 
annexed to his own empire, converting them into a 



RETURNING WITH THE SPOILS 217 

province under the rule of an Assyrian governor ; he then 
returned to Calah with a convoy of 60,500 prisoners, and 
countless herds of oxen, sheep, mules, and dromedaries. 
Whilst he was thus employed, Assur-dainani, one of his 
generals to whom he had entrusted the pick of his army, 
pressed on still further to the north-east, across the almost 
waterless deserts of Media. The mountainous district on 
the shores of the Caspian had for centuries enjoyed a 
reputation for wealth and fertility among the races settled 
on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris. It was from 
thence that they obtained their lapis-lazuli, and the hills 
from which it was extracted were popularly supposed to 
consist almost entirely of one compact mass of this 
precious mineral. Their highest peak, now known as the 
Deinavend, was then called Bikni, 1 a name which had come 
to be applied to the whole district. To the Assyrians 
it stood as the utmost boundary mark of the known world, 
beyond which their imagination pictured little more than 
a confused mist of almost fabulous regions and peoples. 
Assur-dainani caught a distant glimpse of the snow-capped 
pyramid of Demavend, but approached no nearer than its 
lower slopes, whence he retraced his steps after having 
levied tribute from their inhabitants. The fame of this 
exploit spread far and wide in a marvellously short space 
of time, and chiefs who till then had vacillated in their 
decision now crowded the path of the victor, eager to pay 
him homage on his return : even the King of Illipi thought 
it wise to avoid the risk of invasion, and hastened of his 

1 The country of Bikni is probably Rhagian Media and Mount Bikni, the 
modern Demavend. 



218 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



own accord to meet the conqueror. Here, again, Tiglath- 
pileser had merely to show himself in order to re-establish 
the supremacy of Assyria : the races of the plain, for many 
years familiar with defeat, made no pretence of serious 
resistance, but bowed their necks beneath a fresh yoke 

almost without pro 
test. 







PRINCIPAL PEAK OF MOUNT 
BIKXT (DEMAVEKD). 



Having thus secured his rear from attack for some 
years at any rate, Tiglath-pileser no longer hesitated to 
try conclusions with Urartu. The struggle in which he 
now deliberately engaged could not fail to be a decisive 
one ; for Urartu, buoyed up and borne on the wave of 
some fifty years of prosperity, had almost succeeded in 
reaching first rank among the Asiatic powers : one more 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. de Morgan. 



TIGLATH-PILESER ATTACKS URARTU IN SYRIA 219 

victory over Nineveh, and it would become for how long 
none might say undisputed mistress of the whole of Asia. 
Assyria, on the other hand, had reached a point where 
its whole future hung upon a single issue of defeat or 
victory. The prestige with which the brilliant campaigns of 
Assur-nazir-pal and Shalmaneser III. had invested its name, 
if somewhat diminished, had still survived its recent 
reverses, and the terror inspired by its arms was so great 
even among races who had witnessed them from a distance, 
that the image of Assyria rose involuntarily before the 
eyes of the Hebrew prophets as that of the avenger 
destined to punish Israel for its excesses. 1 No doubt, 
during the last few reigns its prosperity had waned and 
its authority over distant provinces had gradually become 
relaxed ; but now the old dynasty, worn out by its own 
activity, had given place to a new one, and with this 
change of rulers the tide of ill-fortune was, perhaps, at 
last about to turn. At such a juncture, a successful cam 
paign meant full compensation for all past disasters and 
the attainment of a firmer position than had ever yet been 
held ; whereas another reverse, following on those from 
which the empire had already suffered, would render their 
effect tenfold more deadly, and, by letting loose the hatred 
of those whom fear alone still held in check, complete 
its overthrow. It was essential, therefore, before entering 
on the struggle, to weigh well every chance of victory, 
and to take every precaution by which adverse contin 
gencies might be, as far as possible, eliminated. The 
army, encouraged by its success in the two preceding 

1 Cf. Amos vi. 4. 



220 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

campaigns, was in excellent fighting order, and ready to 
march in any direction without a moment s hesitation, 
confident in its ability to defeat the forces of Urartu as 
it had defeated those of the Medes and Aramaeans ; hut 
the precise point of attack needed careful consideration. 
Tiglath-pileser must have been sorely tempted to take the 
shortest route, challenge the enemy at his most vulnerable 
point on the shores of Lake Van, and by a well-aimed 
thrust deal him a blow from which he would never, or 
only by slow degrees, recover. But this vital region of 
Urartu, as we have already pointed out, presented the 
greatest difficulties of access. The rampart of mountain 
and forest by which it was protected on the Assyrian 
side could only be traversed by means of a few byways, 
along which bands of guerrillas could slip down easily 
enough to the banks of the Tigris, but which were quite im 
passable to any army in full marching order, hampered by 
its horses, chariots, and baggage-train : compelled to thread 
its way, with columns unduly extended, through the woods 
and passes of an unknown country, which daily use had 
long made familiar to its adversaries, it would have run 
the risk of being cut to pieces man by man a dozen times 
before it could hope to range its disciplined masses on 
the field of battle. Former Assyrian invasions had, as a 
general rule, taken an oblique course towards some of the 
spurs of this formidable chain, and had endeavoured to 
neutralise its defences by outflanking them, either by pro 
ceeding westwards along the basins of the Supnat and 
the Arzania, or eastwards through the countries bordering 
on Lake Urumiah ; but even this method presented too 



THE DEFEAT OF SHARDURIS 



221 



many difficulties and too little certainty of success to 
warrant Tiglath-pileser in staking the reviving fortunes 
of his empire on its adoption. He rightly argued that 
Sharduris would be most easily vulnerable in those 
provinces whose allegiance to him was of recent date, 
and he resolved to seek out his foe in the heart of 




VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS WHICH GUARD THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF URARTU. 1 

Northern Syria. There, if anywhere, every chance was 
in his favour and against the Armenian. The scene of 
operations, while it had long been familiar to his own 
generals and soldiers, was, on the other hand, entirely 
new ground to those of the enemy ; the latter, though 
unsurpassed in mountain warfare, lost much of their 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Binder. Taken at 
Julamerk, near the junction of the mountain tracks leading from the Zab 
valley to the south-eastern corner of the basin of Lake Van. 



222 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

superiority on the plains, and could not, with all their 
courage, make up for their lack of experience. Moreover, 
it must not be forgotten that a victory on the banks of 
the Afrin or the Orontes would have more important 
results than a success gained in the neighbourhood of 
the lakes or of Urartu. Not only would it free the Assyrians 
from the only one of their enemies whom they had any 
cause to fear, but it would also bring back the Hittite 
kings to their allegiance, and restore the Assyrian suprem 
acy over the wealthiest regions of Western Asia : they 
would thus disable Urartu and reconquer Syria at one 
and the same time. Tiglath-pileser, therefore, crossed 
the Euphrates in the spring of 743 B.C., neither Matilu 
of Agusi, Kushtashpi of Kummukh, nor their allies daring 
to interfere with his progress. He thus advanced as far 
as Arpad, and, in the first moment of surprise, the town 
threw open its gates before him. 1 There, while he was 
making ready to claim the homage of the surrounding 
countries, he learnt that Sharduris was hastening up to 
the rescue. He at once struck his camp and marched 
out to meet his rival, coming up with him in the centre 
of Kummukh, not far from the Euphrates, between 

Different writers have given different versions of this campaign. Some 
think that Arpad resisted, and that Tiglath-pileser was laying siege 
to it, when the arrival of Sharduris compelled him to retire ; others prefer 
to believe that Arpad was still in the hands of the Assyrians, and that 
Tiglath-pileser used it as his base of operations. The formula ina Arpadda 
in the Eponym Canon proves that Tiglath-pileser was certainly in Arpad : 
since Arpad belonged to the Bit-Agusi, and they were the allies or vassals of 
Sharduris, we must assume, as I have done here, that in the absence of the 
Urartians they did not dare to resist the Assyrians, and opened their gates 
to them. 



SHARDURIS TAKES HIS FLIGHT 

Kishtan and Khalpi. Sharduris was at the head of his 
Syrian contingents, including the forces of Agusi, Melitene, 
Kummukh, and Gurgum a formidable army, probahly 
superior in point of numbers to that of the Assyrians. 
The struggle lasted a whole day, and in the course of 
it the two kings, catching sight of one another on the 
field of battle, engaged in personal combat: at last, 
towards evening, the chariots and cavalry of Urartu gave 
way and the rout began. The victors made their way 
into the camp at the heels of their flying enemies. 
Sharduris abandoned his chariot, and could find nothing 
but a mare to aid him in his flight ; he threw himself 
upon her back, careless of the ridicule at that time 
attached to the use of such a mount in Eastern countries, 1 
fled at a gallop all through the night, hard pressed by 
a large body of cavalry, crossed the hills of Sibak, and 
with much difficulty reached the bridge over the Euphrates. 
His pursuers drew rein on the river-bank, and Sharduris 
re-entered his kingdom in safety. He had lost nearly 
73,000 men, killed or taken prisoners, in addition to his 
chariots, and nearly the whole train of horses, asses, 
servants, and artisans attached to his army; he left his 
tent still standing, and those who were first to enter 
it laid hands on his furniture and effects, his royal 
ornaments, his bed and portable throne, with its cushions 
and bearing-poles, none of which had he found time to 
take with him. Tiglath-pileser burnt them all on the 
spot as a thank-offering to the gods who had so signally 

1 So, too, later on, in the time of Sargon, Rusas, when, defeated, gets on 
the back of a mare and rides off. 



224 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

favoured him ; the bed alone he retained, in order that 
he might dedicate it as a trophy to the goddess Ishtar 
of Nineveh. 

He had covered himself with glory, and might well 
be proud of his achievement, yet the victory was in no 
way a decisive one. The damage inflicted on the allies, 
considerable though it was, had cost him dear : the forces 
left to him were not sufficient to enable him to finish the 
campaign, and extort oaths of allegiance from the Syrian 
princes before they had recovered from the first shock 
of defeat. He returned to Nineveh, and spent the whole 
winter in reorganising his troops ; while his enemies, on 
the other hand, made preparations to repel the attack 
energetically. Sharduris could not yet venture outside 
his mountain strongholds, but the hope of being rein 
forced by him, as soon as he had got together another 
army, encouraged the Syrian kings to remain faithful to 
him in spite of his reverses. 1 Matilu of Agusi, unable 
to carry the day against the Assyrians in the open field, 
distributed his men among his towns, and resisted all 
attacks with extraordinary persistence, confident that 
Sharduris would at length come to help him, and with 
this hope he held out for three years in his town of 
Arpad. This protracted resistance need no longer astonish 
us, now that we know, from observations made on the 
spot, the marvellous skill displayed in the fortification 

1 The part played by Sharduris in the events of the years which followed, 
passing mention of which was made by Winckler (Gesch. Bab. und Ass., pp. 
224, 225), have been fully dealt with by Belck and Lehmann (ChaldiscJie 
Forschungen, in Verliandl. dcr Berliner antliropol. Gescllschaft, 1895, pp. 
325-336). 



METHOD OF BUILDING CITADELS 225 

of these Asiatic towns. The ruins of Arpad have yet 
to be explored, but those of Samalla have been excavated, 
and show us the methods adopted for the defence of a 
royal residence about the middle of the century with 
which we are now concerned., The practice of building 
citadels on a square or rectangular plan, which prevailed so 
largely under the Egyptian rule, had gradually gone out of 
fashion as the knowledge of engineering advanced, and 
the use of mines and military engines had been more 
fully developed among the nations of Western Asia. It 
was found that the heavily fortified angles of the en 
closing wall merely presented so many weak points, easy 
to attack but difficult to defend, no matter how care 
fully they might be protected by an accumulation of 
obstacles. In the case of fortresses built on a plain, 
where the plan was not modified by the nature of the 
site, the enclosing wall was generally round or oval in 
shape, and free from useless angles which might detract 
from its strength. The walls were surmounted by battle 
ments, and flanked at short intervals by round or square 
towers, the tops of which rose but little, if indeed at 
all, above the level of the curtain. In front of this 
main wall was a second lower one, also furnished with 
towers and battlements, which followed the outline of 
the first all the way round at an interval of some yards, 
thus acting as a sort of continuous screen to it. The 
gates were little less than miniature citadels built into 
each line of ramparts ; the gate of the outer wall was 
often surrounded by lower outworks, two square bastions 
and walls enclosing an outer quadrangle which had to 

VOL. VII. Q 



226 TIGLATH PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 




PLAN OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF 
ZINJIULI. 1 



be crossed before the real gate was reached. When a 

breach had been made in this double enclosure, though 

the town itself might be taken, 
the labours of the attacking 
force were not yet over. In 
the very centre of the place, 
on a sort of artificial mound 
or knoll, stood the royal castle, 
and resistance on the part of 
its garrison would make it 
necessary for the enemy to 
undertake a second siege no 
less deadly and protracted than 
the first. The keep of Zinjiiii 

had only a single gate approached by a narrow causeway. 

Within, it was 

divided by walls 

into five com 

partments, each 

of which was 

independent of 

the rest, and had 

to be attacked 

separately. Ma- 

tilu knew he 

could hoDP for 

no mercy at the hands of the Assyrians ; he therefore 

1 A reproduction by Faucher-Gudin of the first plan published by 
Luschan. 

2 Reproduction by Faucher-Gudin of the sketch published by Luschan. 







OF THE GATES 



z:XJIKLI 



THE ROYAL CASTLE OP ZINJIRLI 



22V 



struggled on to the last, and when at length obliged to 
surrender, in the year 740 B.C., he paid for his obstinacy by 
the loss of his throne, and perhaps also of his life. 1 The 
inaction of Sharduris clearly showed that he was no longer 










BIRD ; S-EYK VIEW OF THE ROYAL CASTLE OF ZINJIRLI AS RESTORED. 2 

in a position to protect his. allies, and that the backbone 
of his kingdom was broken ; the kings who had put faith 
in his help now gave him up, and ambassadors flocked 

1 Our knowledge of these events is imperfect, our only information being 
derived from the very scanty details given in the Eponym Canon ; up to the 
present we can do no more than trace the general course of events. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the plan published in Luschan. 



228 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

in from all parts, even from those which were not as 
yet directly threatened. Kushtashpi of Kummukh, Tark- 
hulara of Gurgum, Pisiris of Carchemish, Uriaik of Kul, 
came to Arpad in person to throw themselves at the 
conqueror s feet, bringing with them offerings of gold and 
silver, of lead and iron, of ivory, carved and in the tusk, 
of purple, and of dyed or embroidered stuffs, and were 
confirmed in the possession of their respective territories ; 
Hiram II. of Tyre, moreover, and Rezin of Damascus 
sent their greetings to him. 1 The Patina, who in days 
gone by had threatened the fortunes of Assur-nazir-pal, 
once again endeavoured to pose as the rivals of Assyria, 
and Tutammu, sovereign of Unki, the most daring of 
the minor states into which the Patina had been split 
up, declined to take part in the demonstrations made 
by his neighbours. Tiglath-pileser marched on Kinalua, 
sacked it, built a fortress there, and left a governor and 
garrison behind him : Agusi and Unki henceforth sank 
down to the level of mere provinces, administered by 
royal officers in the king s name, and permanently occupied 
by Assyrian troops. 

Northern Syria was thus again incorporated with the 
empire, but Urartu, although deprived of the resources 
with which Syria had supplied it, continued to give cause 
for apprehension ; in 739 B.C., however, a large proportion 
of the districts of Nairi, to which it still clung, was wrested 
from it, and a fortress was built at Ulluba, with a view to 

1 Annals of Tiglath-pileser III., where the statement at the close indicates 
that Tiglath-pileser received the tributary kings of Syria " in Arpad," after 
he had captured that city. 



WARFARE BETWEEN THE PETTY KINGS 229 

providing a stable base of operations at this point on the 
northern frontier. A rebellion, instigated, it may be, by 
his own agents, recalled Tiglath-pileser to the Amanus in 
the year 738. The petty kings who shared with Assyria 
the possession of the mountains and plains of the Afrin 
could not succeed in living at peace with one another, and 
every now and then their disputes broke out into open 
warfare. Samalla was at that time subject to a family of 
which the first members known to history, Qaral and 
Panamrnu, shared Yaudi equally between them. Barzur, 
son of Panammu I., had reigned there since about 765 B.C., 
and there can be little doubt that he must have passed 
through the same vicissitudes as his neighbours ; faithful 
to Urartu as long as Sharduris kept the upper hand, and 
to Assyria as soon as Tiglath-pileser had humiliated Urartu, 
he had been killed in a skirmish by some rival. His sou, 
Panammu II., came to the throne merely as a nominee of 
his suzerain, and seems to have always rendered him 
faithful service; unfortunately, Yaudi was no longer 
subject to the house of Panammu, but obeyed the rule of 
a certain Azriyahu, who chafed at the presence of an alien 
power. 1 Azriyahu took advantage of the events which kept 
Tiglath-pileser fully occupied in the east, to form a 

1 Azriyahu of Yaudi was identified with Azariah of Judah by G. Smith, 
and this identification was for a long time accepted without question by 
most Assyriologists. After a violent controversy it has finally been shown 
that the Yaudi of Tiglath-pileser III. s inscriptions ought to be identified 
with the Yadi or Yaudi of the Zinjirli inscriptions, and consequently that 
Azriyahu was not king of Judah, but a king of Northern Syria. This view 
appears to me to harmonise so well with what remains of the texts, and with 
our knowledge of the events, that I have had no hesitation in adopting it. 



230 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AXD THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

coalition in favour of himself among the states on the 
banks of the Orontes, including some seventeen provinces, 
dependencies of Hamath, and certain turbulent cities of 
Northern Phoenicia, such as Byblos, Arka, Zimyra, Usnu, 
Siannu, Coele- Syria, and even Hadrach itself. It is not 
quite clear whether Damascus and the Hebrews took part 
in this movement. Jeroboam had died in 740, after a 
prosperous reign of forty-one years, and on his death Israel 
seems to have fallen under a cloud ; six months later, his 
son Zechariah was assassinated at Ibleam by Shallum, son 
of Jabesh, and the prophecy of Amos, in which he declared 
that the house of Jeroboam should fall beneath the sword 
of Jahveh, 1 was fulfilled. Shallum himself reigned only 
one month : two other competitors had presented them 
selves immediately after his crime ; 2 the ablest of these, 
Menahem, son of Gadi, had come from Tirzah to Samaria, 
and, after suppressing his rivals, laid hands on the crown. 3 
He must have made himself master of the kingdom little 
by little, the success of his usurpation being entirely due 
to the ruthless energy invariably and everywhere displayed 
by him ; as, for instance, when Tappuakh (Tiphsah) refused 
to open its gates at his summons, he broke into the town 
and slaughtered its inhabitants. 4 All the defects of organi- 

1 Amos vii. 9. 

2 The nameless prophet, whose prediction is handed down to us in Zech. 
ix.-xi., speaks of three shepherds cut off by Javeh in one month (xi. 8) ; two 
of these were Zechariah and Shallum ; the third is not mentioned in the 
Book of Kings. 

3 2 Kings xiv. 23-29; xv. 8-15. 

4 2 Kings xv. 16. The Massoretic text gives the name of the town as 
Tipsah, but the Septuagint has Taphot, which led Thenius to suggest Tap 
puakh as an emendation of Tipsah : Stade prefers the emendation Tirzah. 



HOSEA S COMPLAINT 231 

sation, all the sources of weakness, which for the last 
half-century had been obscured by the glories of Jeroboam 
II., now came to the surface, and defied all human efforts 
to avert their consequences. " Then," as Hosea com 
plains, " is the iniquity of Ephraim discovered, and the 
wickedness of Samaria ; for they commit falsehood : and 
the thief entereth in, and the troop of robbers spoileth 
without. And they consider not in their hearts that I 
(Jahveh) remember all their wickedness : now have their 
own doings beset them about ; they are before My face. 
They make the king glad with their wickedness and the 
princes with their lies. They are all adulterers ; they are 
as an oven heated by the baker. . . . They . . . devour 
their judges ; all their kings are fallen ; there is none 
among them that calleth unto Me." l In Judah, Azariah 
(Uzziah) had at first shown some signs of ability ; he had 
completed the conquest of Idumaea [Edom], and had 
fortified Elath, 2 but he suddenly found himself stricken 
with leprosy, and was obliged to hand over the reins of 
government of Jotham. 3 His long life had been passed 
uneventfully, and without any disturbance, under the pro 
tection of Jeroboam ; but the very same defects which had 
led to the ruin of Israel were at work also in Judah, and 

Tappuakh was a town situated on the borders of Ephraim and Manasseh 
(Josh. xvi. 8 ; xvii. 7, 8). 

1 Eos. vii. 1-4, 7. 

2 2 Kings xiv. 22 ; in 2 Chron. xxvi. 6-15 he is credited with the re 
organisation of the army and of the Judsean fortress, in addition to cam 
paigns against the Philistines and Arabs. 

3 2 Kinqs xv. 5 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxvi. 19-21. Azariah is also abbreviated 

\f y 

into Uzziah. 



232 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Menahem, in spite of his enfeebled condition, had nothing 
to fear in this direction. The danger which menaced him 
came rather from the east and the north, where Damascus, 
aroused from its state of lethargy by Rezon [Eezin] II., had 

again begun to strive after the hege 
mony of Syria. 1 All these princes, 
when they found that the ambition 




TIGLATII-riLESER III. IX HIS STATE CHARIOT. 2 

of Tiglath-pileser threatened to interfere with their own 
intrigues, were naturally tempted to combine against him, 
and were willing to postpone to a more convenient season 

1 The name of this king, written Rezin in the Bible (2 Kings xv. 37 ; 
xvi. 5, 6, 9), is given as Bazunu in the Assyrian texts ; he was therefore 
Rez6n II. A passage in the Annals seems to indicate that Rezin s father was 
prince of a city dependent on Damascus, not king of Damascus itself ; un 
fortunately the text is too much mutilated to warrant us in forming any 
definite conclusion on this point. 

3 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch published by Layarcl. 



THE WAR IX URARTU 233 

the settlement of their own domestic quarrrels. But 
Tiglath-pileser did not give them time for this ; he routed 
Azriyahu, and laid waste Kullani, 1 the chief centre of 
revolt, ravaged the valley of the Orontes, and carried off 
the inhabitants of several towns, replacing them with 
prisoners taken the year before during his campaign in 
Nairi. After this feat the whole of Syria surrendered. 
Rezin and Menahem were among the first to tender their 
homage, and the latter paid a thousand talents of silver for 
the firman which definitely confirmed his tenure of the 
throne ; the princes of Tyre, Byblos, Hamath, Carchemish, 
Milid, Tabal, and several others followed their example 
even a certain Zabibi, queen of an Arab tribe, feeling com 
pelled to send her gifts to the conqueror. 

A sudden rising among the Aramaean tribes on the 
borders of Elam obliged Tiglath-pileser to depart before he 
had time to take full advantage of his opportunity. The 
governors of Lullumi and Nairi promptly suppressed the 
outbreak, and, collecting the most prominent of the rebels 
together, sent them to the king in order that he might 
distribute them throughout the cities of Syria : a colony 
of 600 prisoners from the town of Amlati was established 
in the territory of Darnaunu, 5400 from Dur were sent to 
the fortresses of Unki, Kunalia, Khuzarra, Tai, Tarmanazi, 
Kulmadara, Khatatirra, and Sagillu, while another 10,000 
or so were scattered along the Phoenician seaboard and 
among the adjacent mountains. The revolt had meanwhile 

1 Kullani is the Calno or Calneh mentioned by Isaiah (x. 9) and Amos 
(vi. 2), which lay somewhere between Arpad and Hamath ; the precise spot 
is not yet known. 



234 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

spread to the nations of Media, where it was, perhaps, 
fomented by the agents of Urartu ; and for the second time 
within seven years (737 B.C.) Tiglath-pileser trampled under 
foot the countries over which he had ridden in triumph at the 
beginning of his career the Bit-Kapsi, the Bit-Sangibuti, 
the Bit-Tazzakki, the Bit-Zulazash, the Bit-Matti, and 
Umliash. The people of Upash, among the Bit-Kapsi, 
entrenched themselves on the slopes of Mount Abirus; 
but he carried their entrenchments by storm. Ushuru 
of Taddiruta and Burdadda of Nirutakta were seized with 
alarm, and hid themselves in their mountain gorges; 
but he climbed up in pursuit of them, drove them out 
of their hiding-places, seized their possessions, and made 
them prisoners. Similar treatment was meted out to all 
those who proved refractory ; some he despoiled, others 
he led captive, and " bursting upon the remainder like 
the downpour of Eamman," permitted none of them to 
escape. He raised trophies all along his line of march : 
in Bau, a dependency of Bit-Ishtar, he set up a pointed 
javelin dedicated to Ninip, on which he had engraved 
a panegyric of the virtues of his master Assur ; near 
Shilkhazi, a town founded, in bygone days, by the Baby 
lonians, he erected a statue of himself, and a pillar 
consecrated to Marduk in Til-ashshur. In the following 
year he again attacked Urartu and occupied the mountain 
province of Nal, which formed one of its outlying defences 
(736). The year after he entered on the final struggle 
with Sharduris, and led the flower of his forces right 
under the walls of Dhuspas, 1 the enemy s capital. 

The name is written Turuspas in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III. 



THE ROCK AND CITADEL OF VAX 235 

Dhuspas really consisted of two towns joined together. 
One of these, extending over the plain by the banks of 
the Alais and in the direction of the lake, was surrounded 
by fertile gardens and villas, in which the inhabitants 
spent the summer at their ease. It was protected by 
an isolated mass of white and red nummulitic chalk, the 
steep sides of which are seamed with fissures and tunnelled 




THE KOCK AND CITADEL OF VAX AT THE PRESENT DAY. 1 

with holes and caverns from top to bottom. The plateau 
in which it terminates, and which rises to a height of 
300 feet at its loftiest point, is divided into three main 
terraces, each completely isolated from the other two, 
and forming, should occasion arise, an independent fortress, 
Ishpuinis, Menuas, Argistis, and Sharduris II. had laboured 
from generation to generation to make this stronghold 
impregnable, and they had succeeded in the attempt. 

There can be little or no doubt, however, that this is merely a variant of the 
name usually written as Tuspas, Tuspana, Dhuspana, the Thospia of classical 
times ; properly speaking, it was the capital of Biainas. 
1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Binder. 



236 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

The only access to it was from the western side, by a 
narrow bridle-path, which almost overhung the precipice 
as it gradually mounted to the summit. This path had 
been partially levelled, and flanked with walls and towers 
which commanded the approach throughout its whole 
length; on the platforms at the summit a citadel had 
been constructed, together with a palace, temples, and 




ENTRANCE TO THE MODEKX CITADEL OF VAX FROM THE WESTWARD. 1 

storehouses, in which was accumulated a sufficient supply 
of arms and provisions to enable the garrison to tire out 
the patience of any ordinary foe ; treason or an unusually 
prolonged siege could only get the better of such a position. 
Tiglath-pileser invested the citadel and ravaged its out 
skirts without pity, hoping, no doubt, that he would 
thus provoke the enemy into capitulating. Day after day, 
Sharduris, perched in his lofty eyrie, saw his leafy gardens 
laid bare under the hatchet, and his villages and the 

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Binder 



THE AMBITION OF URARTU FINALLY CHECKED 237 

palaces of his nobles light up the country round as far 
as the eye could reach: he did not flinch, however, 
and when all had been laid waste, the Assyrians set up 
a statue of their king before the principal gate of the 
fortress, broke up their camp, and leisurely retired. They 
put the country to fire and sword, destroyed its cities, 
led away every man and beast they could find into cap 
tivity, and then returned to Nineveh laden with plunder. 
Urartu was still undaunted, and Sharduris remained king 
as before ; but he was utterly spent, and his power had 
sustained a blow from which it never recovered. He 
had played against Assur with the empire of the whole 
Asiatic world as the stake, and the dice had gone against 
him : compelled to renounce his great ambitions from 
henceforth, he sought merely to preserve his independence. 
Since then, Armenia has more than once challenged 
fortune, but always with the same result ; it fared no 
better under Tigranes in the Roman epoch, than under 
Sharduris in the time of the Assyrians ; it has been 
within an ace of attaining the goal of its ambitions, then 
at the last moment its strength has failed, and it has 
been forced to retire worsted from the struggle. Its 
position prevented it from exercising very wide influence ; 
hidden away in a corner of Asia at the meeting-point 
of three or four great mountain ranges, near the source 
of four rivers, all flowing in different directions, it has 
lacked that physical homogeneity without which no people, 
however gifted, can hope to attain supremacy ; nature has 
doomed it to remain, like Syria, split up into compart 
ments of unequal size and strength, which give shelter 



238 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

to half a score of independent principalities, each, one 
of them perpetually jealous of the rest. From time to 
time it is invested with a semblance of unity, but for 
the most part it drags on an uneventful existence, dis 
membered into as many fragments as there happen to be 
powerful states around it, its only chance of complete 
reunion lying in the possibility of one or other of these 
attaining sufficient predominance to seize the share of 
the others and absorb it. 

The subjection of Urartu freed Assyria from, the only 
rival which could at this moment have disputed its 
supremacy on the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris. 
The other nations on its northern and eastern frontiers as 
yet possessed no stability ; they might, in the course of 
a passing outburst, cut an army to pieces or annex part 
of a province, but they lacked strength to follow up their 
advantage, and even their most successful raids were sure, 
in the long run, to lead to terrible reprisals, in which their 
gains were two or three times outweighed by their losses 
in men and treasure. For nearly a hundred years Nineveh 
found its hands free, and its rulers were able to concentrate 
all their energy on two main points of the frontier to the 
south-west on Syria and Egypt, to the south-east on 
Chaldsea and Elam. ChaldaBa gave little trouble, but the 
condition of Syria presented elements of danger. The 
loyalty of its princes was more apparent than real ; they 
had bowed their necks after the fall of Unki, but afterwards, 
as the years rolled on without any seeming increase in the 
power of Assyria, they again took courage and began once 
more to quarrel among themselves. Menahern had died, 



AHAZ PREPARES FOR A SIEGE 239 

soon after he had paid his tribute (737 B.C.) ; his son 
Pekahiah had been assassinated less than two years later 
(736), 1 and his murderer, Pekah, son of Eemaliah, was 
none too firmly seated on the throne. Anarchy was 
triumphant throughout Israel ; so much so that Judah 
seized the opportunity for throwing off the yoke it had 
borne for well-nigh a hundred j^ears. Pekah, conscious of 
his inability to suppress the rebellion, called in Eezin to 
help him. The latter was already on the way when 
Jotharn was laid with his fathers (736 B.C.), and it was 
Ahaz, the son of Jotham, who had to bear the brunt of 
the assault. He was barely twenty years old, a volatile, 
presumptuous, and daring youth, who was not much 
dismayed by his position. 2 Jotham had repaired the 
fortifications of Jerusalem, which had been left in a 
lamentable state ever since the damage done to them in 
the reign of Amaziah ; 3 his successor now set to work to 
provide the city with the supply of water indispensable 
for its defence, 4 and, after repairing the ancient aqueducts, 

1 2 Kings xv. 22-26. The chronology of the events which took place 
between the death of Menahem and the fall of Samaria, as presented by the 
biblical documents in the state in which they have been transmitted to us, 
is radically inaccurate : following the example of most recent historians, I 
have adhered exclusively to the data furnished by the Assyrian texts, merely 
indicating in the notes the reasons which have led me to adopt certain dates 
in preference to others. 

2 2 Kings xv. 38, xvi. 1, 2. Ahaz is called laukhazi, i.e. Jehoahaz, in the 
Assyrian texts, and this would seem to have been the original form of the 
name. 

3 The restoration of the walls of Jerusalem by Jotham is only mentioned 
in 2 Chron. xxvii. 3. 

4 We may deduce this from the words of Isaiah (vii. 3), where he repre 
sents Ahaz " at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of 



240 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

conceived the idea of constructing a fresh one in the spur 
of Mount Sion, which extends southwards. As time 
pressed, the work was begun simultaneously at each end ; 
the workmen had made a wide detour underground, 
probably in order to avoid the caves in which the kings 
of Judah had been laid to rest ever since the time of 
David, 1 and they were beginning to despair of ever uniting 
the two sections of the tunnel, when they suddenly heard 
one another through the wall of rock which divided them. 
A few blows with the pick-axe opened a passage between 
them, and an inscription on the wall adjoining the entrance 
on the east side, the earliest Hebrew inscription we possess, 
set forth the vicissitudes of the work for the benefit of 
future generations. It was scarcely completed when Rezin, 
who had joined forces with Pekah at Samaria, came up and 
laid regular siege to Jerusalem. 2 The allies did not propose 
to content themselves with exacting tribute from the young 
king; they meant to dethrone him, and to set up in his 
room a son of Tabeel, whom they had brought with them ; 
they were nevertheless obliged to retire without effecting 
a breach in his defences and leave the final assault till the 
following campaign. Eezin, however, had done as much 
injury as he could to Judah; he had laid waste both 

the fuller s field." Ahaz had gone there to inspect the works intended for 
the defence of the aqueduct. 

This is the highly ingenious hypothesis put forward and defended with 
much learning by Clermont-Ganneau, in order to account for the large curve 
described by the tunnel. 

! 2 Kings xvi. 5 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxviii. 5-8. It was on this occasion that 
Isaiah delivered the prophecies which, after subsequent revision, furnished 
the bulk of chaps, vi. 1 x. 4. 



REZIN AND THE EDOMITES 



241 



mountain and plain, had taken Elath by storm and restored 
it to the Edomites, 1 and had given a free hand to the 
Philistines (735). 2 The whole position seemed so hopeless, 




HEBREW INSCRIPTION ON THE SILOAJI AQUEDUCT. 3 

that a section of the people began to propose surrendering 
to the mercy of the Syrians. 4 Ahaz looked around him in 

1 2 Kings xvi. 6, where the Massoretic text states that the Syrians 
retained the town, while the Septuagint maintain that he restored it to the 
Edomites. 

2 Chron. xxviii. 18, where a list is given of the towns wrested from Judah 
by the Philistines. The delight felt by the Philistines at the sight of 
Judah s abasement seems to be referred to in the short prophecy of Isaiah 
(xiv. 29-32), wrongly ascribed to the year of Ahaz s death. 

3 A direct reproduction from a plaster cast now in Paris. The inscription 
discovered by Schick, in 1880, has since been mutilated, and only the frag 
ments are preserved in the museum at Constantinople. Some writers think 
it was composed in the time of Hezekiah ; for my own part, I agree with 
Stade in assigning it to the period of Ahaz. 

4 This seems to be an obvious inference from the words of Isaiah (viii. 
6) : " Forasmuch as this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah that go 
softly, and lose courage because of Bczin and RemaliaKs son." [The R.V. 
reads "rejoice in" Rezin, etc. TR.] 

VOL. VII. B 



242 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



search of some one on whom he might call for help. All 
his immediate neighbours were hostile ; but behind them, 
in the background, were two great powers who might be 
inclined to listen to his appeal Egypt and 
Assyria. Ever since the expedition of Sheshonq 
into Asia, Egypt seemed to have lost all interest 
in foreign politics. Osorkon had not inherited 
the warlike propensities of his father, and his 
son, Takeloti I., and his grandson, Osorkon II., 
followed his example. 1 These monarchs 
regarded themselves as traditionary 
suzerains of the country of Kharu, i.e. 




1 The chronology of this period is still very uncertain, 
and the stelse of the Serapseum, which enable us to fix 
the order of the various reigns, yield no information as to 
their length. Sheshonq I. did not reign much longer than 
twenty-one years, which is his latest known date, and we 
may take the reign of twenty-one years attributed to him 
by Manetho as being substantially correct. The latest 
dates we possess are as follows : Osorkon I., twelfth year, 
and Takeloti I., sixth year or seventh year. Lastly, we 
have a twenty-ninth year in the case of Osorkon II., with 
a reference in the case of the twenty-eighth year to the 
fifth year of a Takeloti whose first cartouche is missing, 
and who perhaps died before his father and co-regent. In 
Manetho, Osorkon I. is credited with a reign of fifteen 
years, and his three next successors with a total of 
twenty-five years between them, which is. manifestly 
incorrect, since the monuments give twenty-nine years, or twenty-three at 
the very least, if we take into account the double date in the case of the 
first two of these kings. The wisest course seems to be to allow forty-five 
years to Osorkon aud his two successors : if Sheshonq, as I believe, died in 
924, the fifty years allotted to the next three Pharaohs would bring us down 
to 880, and it is in this year that I am, for the present, inclined to place the 
death of Osorkon II. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Lanzone s statuette. 



I5ROKZE 

STATUETTE OF 

OSORKON I. 2 



PROSPERITY OF EGYPT 



243 



of Israel, Judah, Ammon, and Moab, and their authority 
may perhaps have been recognised by the Philistines in the 
main, but they seldom stirred from their own territory, and 
contented themselves with protecting their frontiers against 




Tin: CHEAT TEMPLE OF 
BUBASTLS UUR1NU 

NAVILLE S ExcAVATioss. 1 

the customary depre 
dations of the Libyan and 
Asiatic nomads. 2 Under 

...-. - r 

their rule, Egypt enjoyed 

fifty years of profound peace, which was spent in works of 

public utility, especially in the Delta, where, thanks to their 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by .Neville. 

1 Repressive measures of this kind are evidently referred to in passages 
similar to those in which Osorkon II. boasts of having " overthrown beneath 
his feet the Upper and Lower Lotanu," and speaks of the exploits of the 
sons of Queen Kalamait against certain tribes whose name, though mutilated, 
seems to have been Libyan in character. 



244 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

efforts, Bubastis came to be one of the most splendid among 
the cities of secondary importance. 1 Its temple, which had 
been rebuilt by Eamses II. and decorated by the Rames- 
sides, was in a sorry plight when the XXII nd dynasty came 
into power. Sheshonq I. did little or nothing to it, but 
Osorkon I. entirely remodelled it, and Osorkon II. added 
several new halls, including, amongst others, one in which 
he celebrated, in the twenty-second year of his reign, the 
festival of his deification. A record of some of the 
ceremonies observed has come down to us in the mural 
paintings. There we see the king, in a chapel, consecrating 
a statue of himself in accordance with the ritual in use 
since the time of Amenothes III., and offering the figure 
devout and earnest worship ; all the divinities of Egypt 
have assembled to witness the enthronement of this new 
member of their confraternity, and take part in the 
sacrifices accompanying his consecration. This gathering 
of the gods is balanced by a human festival, attended by 
Nubians and Kushites, as well as by the courtiers and 
populace. The proceedings terminated, apparently, with 
certain funeral rites, the object being to make the 
identification of Osorkon with Osiris complete. The 
Egyptian deities served in a double capacity, as gods of 
the dead as well as of the living, and no exception could 
be made in favour of the deified Osorkon ; while yet living 
he became an Osiris, and his double was supposed to 
animate those prophetic statues in which he appeared as 
a mummy no less than those which represented him as 

1 All our knowledge of the history of the temple of Bubastis dates from 
Naville s excavations. 



ENDOWMENT OF THE TEMPLES 



245 



still alive. Another temple of small size, also dedicated 
to Bastit or Pasht, which had been built in the time of 
Ramses II., was enlarged by Osorkon L, and richly en- 




GATE OF THE FESTIVAL HALL AT BUBASTIS. 1 

dowed with workshops, lands, cattle, slaves, and precious 
metals : Tumu-Khopri of Heliopolis, to mention but one of 
the deities worshipped there, received offerings of gold in 
value by weight 120,000, and silver ingots worth 12,000. 2 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a restoration by Naville. 

This is the small temple afterwards described by Herodotus as being 
dedicated to Hermes. 



246 TIGLATH PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

A country which could afford to indulge in extravagances 
of this nature must have been in a flourishing condition, 
and everything goes to prove that Egypt prospered under 
the rule of the early Bubastite kings. 

The very same causes, however, which had ruined the 
Ramessides and the Tanites were now openly compassing 
the downfall of the Bubastite dynasty. The military 
feudalism from which it had sprung, suppressed for a time 
by Sheshonq I., developed almost unchecked under his 
successors. They had thought to break it up and turn it 
to their own advantage, by transferring the more important 
religious functions and the principal fiefs to their own sons 
or nephews. They governed Memphis through the high 
priests of Phtah ; a prince of the blood represented them 
at Khmunu, 1 another at Khninsu 2 (Heracleopolis), and 
others in various cities of the Delta, each of them being 
at the head of several thousand Mashauasha, or Libyan 
soldiers on whose fidelity they could entirely rely. Thebes 
alone had managed to exclude these representatives of the 
ruling dynasty, and its princes, guided in this particular by 
the popular prejudice, persistently refused to admit into 
their bodyguard any but the long-tried Mazaiu. Moreover, 
Thebes lost no opportunity of proving itself to be still 
the most turbulent of the baronies. Its territory had 
suffered no diminution since the time of Hrihor, and half 

1 E.g. Namroti, under Pionkhi-Miamun, whose rights were such that he 
adopted the protocol of the Pharaohs. 

2 Stele 1959 of the Serapseum contains the names of five successive 
princes of this city, the first of whom was Namrdti, son of Osorkon II., and 
high priest of Thebes ; a member of the same family, named Pefzaabastit, 
had taken cartouches under Osorkon III. of the XXIII rd dynasty. 



POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THEBES 247 

of Upper Egypt, from Elephantine to Siut, acknowledged 
its sway. 1 Through all the changes of dynasty its political 
constitution had remained unaltered ; Amon still ruled 
there supreme as ever, and nothing was done until he had 
been formally consulted in accordance with ancient usage. 
Auputi, in spite of his being a son of Sheshonq, was com 
pelled to adopt the title of high priest in order to rule 
in peace, and had married some daughter or niece of the 
last of the Painotmu. After his death, good care was 
taken to prevent the pontificate from passing to one of 
his children, as this would have re-established a Theban 
dynasty which might have soon proved hostile to that of 
Bubastis. To avoid this, Osorkon I. made over the office 
and fief to his own son Sheshonq. The latter, after a time, 
thought he was sufficiently powerful to follow the example 
of Painotmu and adopt the royal cartouches ; but, with 
all his ambition, he too failed to secure the succession 
to the male line of his descendants, for Osorkon II. 
appointed his own son Namrdti, already prince of Khninsu, 
to succeed him. The amalgamation of these two posts 
invested the person on whom they were conferred with 
almost regal power; Khninsu was, indeed, as we know, 
the natural rampart of Memphis and Lower Egypt against 
invasion from the south, and its possessor was in a position 

1 It is evident that this was so from the first steps taken by Pionkhi- 
Miamun s generals : they meet the army and fleet of Tafnakhti and the 
princes of the north right under the walls of Hermopolis, but say nothing of 
any feudal princes of the south. Their silence is explained if we assume 
that Thebes, being a dependency of Ethiopia, retained at that date, i.e. in 
the time of the XXIII rd dynasty, the same or nearly the same boundaries 
which it had won for itself under the XXI st . 



248 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

to control the fate of the empire almost as he pleased. 
Osorkon must have had weighty reasons for taking a step 
which placed him practically at the mercy of his son, and, 
indeed, events proved that but little reliance could be 
placed on the loyalty of the Thebans, and that energetic 
measures were imperative to keep them in the path of 
duty or lead them back to it. The decadence of the 
ancient capital had sadly increased since the downfall of 




SMALL 1JKOXZE SPHINX OK SIAMUS. 1 

the descendants of Hrihor. The few public works which 
they had undertaken, and which Sheshonq I. encouraged 
to the best of his ability, had been suspended owing to 
want of money, and the craftsmen who had depended on 
them for support were suffering from poverty : the makers 
of small articles of a religious or funerary character, carvers 
of wood or stone, joiners, painters of mummy-cases, and 
workers in bronze, alone managed to eke out a bare liveli 
hood, thanks to commissions still given to them by officials 
attached to the temples. Theban art, which in its best 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the original now in the Louvre. 



DEGENERATION OF THEBAN ART 



249 



period had excelled in planning its works on a gigantic 
scale, now gladly devoted itself to the production of mere 
knick-knacks, in place of the colossal figures of earlier days. 
We have statuettes some twelve or fifteen inches high, 
crudely coloured, wooden stelae, shapeless ushabti redeemed 
from ugliness by a coating of superb blue enamel, and, 




RUINS OF THE TEMPLE AT KIIMXSU AFTER NAVILLE S EXCAVATIONS. 1 

above all, those miniature sphinxes representing queens or 
kings, which present with two human arms either a table 
of offerings or a salver decorated with cartouches. The 
starving populace, its interests and vanity alike mortified 
by the accession of a northern dynasty, refused to accept 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph in Naville. The illustration 
shows what now remains of the portions of the teniple rebuilt in the time of 
Ramses II. 



250 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

the decay of its fortunes with resignation, and this spirit 
of discontent was secretly fomented by the priests or by 
members of the numerous families which boasted of their 
descent from the Eamessides. Although hereditary claims 
to the throne and the pontificate had died out or lost their 
force in the male line, they were still persistently urged 
by the women : consecrated from their birth to the service 
of Amon, and originally reserved to sing his praises or 
share his nuptial couch, those of them who married 
transmitted to their children, and more especially to their 
daughters, the divine germ which qualified them for the 
throne. They and their followers never ceased to look 
for the day when the national deity should shake off his 
apathy, and, becoming the champion of their cause against 
the Bubastite or Tanite usurpers, restore their city to the 
rank and splendour from which it had fallen. Namroti 
married one of these Theban princesses, and thus contrived 
to ward off the danger of revolt during his lifetime ; but 
on his death or disappearance an insurrection broke out. 
Sheshonq II. had succeeded Osorkon II., and he, in his 
turn, was followed by Takeloti II. Takeloti chose Kala- 
mait, daughter of Namroti, as his lawful wife, formally 
recognised her as queen, and set up numerous statues and 
votive monuments in her honour. But all in vain : this 
concession failed to conciliate the rebellious, and the whole 
Thebaid rose against him to a man. In the twelfth year 
of his reign he entrusted the task of putting down the 
revolt to his son Osorkon, at the same time conferring 
upon him the office of high priest. It took several years 
to repress the rising ; defeated in the eleventh year, the 



THE XXIII RD TANITE DYNASTY 

rebels still held the field in the fifteenth year of the king, 
and it was not till some time after, between the fifteenth 
and twenty-second year of Takeloti II., that they finally 
laid down their arms. 1 At the end of this straggle the 
king s power was quite exhausted, while that of the 
feudal magnates had proportionately increased. Before 
long, Egypt was split up into a number of petty states, 
some of them containing but a few towns, while others, 
following the example of Thebes, boldly annexed several 
adjacent nomes. A last remnant of respect for the 
traditional monarchy kept them from entirely repudiating 
the authority of Pharaoh. They still kept up an outward 
show of submission to his rule; they paid him military 
service when called upon, and appealed to him as umpire 
in their disputes, without, however, always accepting his 
rulings, and when they actually came to blows among 
themselves, were content to exercise their right of private 
warfare under his direction. 2 The royal domain gradually 
became narrowed down to the Memphite nome and the 
private appanages of the reigning house, and soon it no 
longer yielded the sums necessary for the due performance 
of costly religious ceremonies, such as the enthronement 
or burial of an Apis. The pomp and luxury usually dis 
played on such occasions grew less and less under the 
successors of Takeloti II., Sheshonq III., Pimi, and 
Sheshonq IV. 3 When the last of these passed away after 

1 The story of these events is told in several greatly mutilated inscriptions 
to be found at Karnak on the outer surface of the south wall of the Hall of 

Columns. 

2 It is evident that this was so, from a romance discovered by Krall. 

3 One need only go to the Louvre and compare the Apis stelse erected 



252 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

an inglorious reign of at least thirty-seven years, the 
prestige of his race had so completely declined that the 
country would have no more of it ; the sceptre passed into 
the hands of another dynasty, this time of Tanite origin. 1 
It was probably a younger branch of the Bubastite family 
allied to the Earnessides and Theban Pallacides. Petu- 
bastis, the first of the line, secured recognition in Thebes, 2 
and throughout the rest of Egypt as well, but his influence 
was little greater than that of his predecessors ; as in the 
past, the real power was in the hands of the high priests. 
One of them, Auiti by name, even went so far, in the 
fourteenth or fifteenth year, as to declare himself king, and 

during this period with those engraved in the time of the XXVI th dynasty, 
in order to realise the low ebb to which the later kings of the XXII nd dynasty 
had fallen : the fact that the chapel and monuments were built under their 
direction shows that they were still masters of Memphis. We have no 
authentic date for Sheshonq II., and the twenty-ninth year is the latest 
known in the case of Takeloti II., but we know that Sheshonq III. reigned 
rifty-two years, and, after two years of Pimi, we find a reference to the 
thirty -seventh year of Sheshonq IV. If we allow a round century for these 
last kings we are not likely to be far out : this would place the close of the 
Bubastite dynasty somewhere about 780 B.C. 

1 The following list gives the names of the Pharaohs of the XX 1 1" 1 
dynasty in so far as they have been ascertained up to the present : 

I. SHASHANQU I. MARIAMANU, UAZAKHPiRRi-soTpuNiRt. 
II. UASARKANU I. MARIAMANU, SAKHMAKHPIRRI-SOTPUNIR!. 

III. TAKELOTI I. si-Islx MARIAMANU, USIRMAR!-SOTPUNIAMANU. 

IV. UASARKANU II. SI-BASTIT MARIAMANU, UsiRMARi-soiPUNiAMANU. 
V. SHASHANQU II. MARIAMANU, SAKHMAKHPIRR!-SOTPUNIAMANU. 

VI. TAKEL6TI II. SI-IstT MARIAMANU, UAZAKHPIRRl-SOTPUNIRf. 

VII. SHASHANQU III. si-BASirr MARIAMANU, UsiRMARl-soiPUNiRt. 
VIII. PAIM! MARIAMANU, USIRMARI-SOTPUNIAMANU. 
IX. SHASHANQU IV. MARIAMANU, AKHPIRR!. 

2 This fact has recently been placed beyond doubt by inscriptions found 
on the quay at Karnak near the water-marks of the Nile. 



HIGH-PRIESTS WITH PRETENSIONS TO ROYALTY 253 

had his cartouches inscribed on official documents side by 
side with those of the Tanite monarch. 1 His kingship died 
with him, just as that of Painotmu had done in similar 
circumstances, and two years later we find his successor, 
Harsiisit, a mere high priest with 
out pretensions to royalty. Doubt 
less his was not an isolated case ; 
all the grandees who happened to 
be nearly related either to the 
dethroned or to the reigning houses 
acted in like manner, and for the 
first time for many years Egypt 
acknowledged the simultaneous 
sway of more than one legitimate 
Pharaoh. Matters became still 
worse under Osorkon III. ; although 
he, too, introduced a daughter of 
Amon into his harem, this alliance 
failed to give him any hold over 
Thebes, and even the Seven Nomes 
and the Delta were split up to such 
an extent that at one time they 
included something like a score of 
independent principalities, three of which, Hermopolis, 

1 No. 26 of Legrain s inscriptions tells us the height of the Nile in the 
sixteenth year of Petubastit, which was also the second year of King Auiti. 
Seeing that Auiti s name occurs in the place occupied by that of the high 
priest of Thebes in other inscriptions of the same king, I consider it probable 
that he was reigning in Thebes itself, and that he was a high priest who had 
become king in the same way as Painotmu under the XXI st dynasty. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a small door now in the Louvre. 




KING PETUBASTIS AT 
PRAYER. 2 



254 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Heracleopolis, and Tentramu, were administered by kings 
who boasted cartouches similar to those of Tanis and 
Bubastis. 

About 740 B.C. there appeared in the midst of these 
turbulent and extortionate nobles a man who, by sheer 
force of energy and talent, easily outstripped all com 
petitors. Tafnakhti was a chief of obscure origin, whose 
hereditary rights extended merely over the village of 
Nutirit and the outskirts of Sebennytos. One or two 
victories gained over his nearest neighbours encouraged 
him to widen the sphere of his operations. He first of 
all laid hands on those nomes of the Delta which extended 
to the west of the principal arm of the Nile, the Saite, 
Atmibite, Libyan, and Memphite nomes ; these he 
administered through officers under his own immediate 
control ; then, leaving untouched the eastern provinces, 
over which Osorkon III. exercised a make-shift, easy 
going rule, he made his way up the river. Maitumu and 
the Fayum accepted him as their suzerain, but Khninsu 
and its king, Pefzaabastit, faithful to their allegiance, 1 
offered strenuous resistance. He then crossed over to 
the right bank, and received the homage of Heliopolis 
and Pnebtepahe ; he put the inhabitants of Uabu to 
ransom, established a close blockade of Khninsu, and 
persuaded Namroti, King of Khmunu, to take an oath 
of allegiance. At length, those petty kings and princes 
of the Said and the Delta who still remained unconquered 
called upon Ethiopia, the only power capable of holding 

1 Pefzaabastit, King of Heracleopolis, seems to be identical with the 
Pharaoh Pefzabastit of the Berlin sarcophagus. 



THE ETHIOPIANS IN EGYPT 



255 



its ground against him, for help. The "vile Kaushu 
(Gush) probably rose to be an independent state about 
the time when Sheshonq and the Bubastite kings came 
into power. Peopled by Theban settlers, and governed 
by the civil and religious code of Thebes, the provinces 
which lay between the cataract of Hannek and the 




VIEW OF A FAKT OF THE RUINS OF NAP ATA. 1 

confluence of the two Niles soon became a second 
Thebaid, more barren and less wealthy than the first, but 
no less tied to the traditions of the past. Napata, its 
capital, lay in the plain at the foot of a sandstone cliff, 
which rose perpendicularly to a height of nearly two 
hundred feet, its summit, when viewed from the south 
west, presenting an accidental resemblance to a human 

1 Reproduced by Faucher-Gudin, from a lithograph published in 
Cailliaucl. 



256 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

profile. 1 This was the Du-uabu, or Sacred Mount, in 
the heart of which the god was supposed to have his 
dwelling ; the ruins of several temples can still be seen 
near the western extremity of the hill, the finest of them 
being dedicated to a local Amon-ra. This Amon was 




GEBEL-BARKAL, THE SACRED MOUNTAIN OF NAPATA. J 

a replica of the Theban Amon on a smaller scale, and 
was associated with the same companions as his prototype, 
Maut, his consort, and Khonsu, his son. He owed his 
origin to the same religious concepts, and was the central 
figure of a similar myth, the only difference being that 

1 The natives believe this profile to have been cut by human hands an 
error which has been shared by more than one modern traveller. 

2 Reproduced by Faucher-Gudin, from a lithograph in Cailliaude 



THE GOD AMOX-RA 



257 



he was represented in composite shape, with a ram s head ; 
perhaps a survival from some earlier indigenous deity, 
such as Didun, for instance, who had been previously 




RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF AMON AT NAPATA. 1 

worshipped in those parts ; his priests lived in accordance 
with the rules of the Theban hierarchy. We can readily 

1 Reproduced by Faucher-Gudin, from a lithograph published by 
Cailliaud. 



VOL. VII. 



S 



258 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

believe that when Hrihor extorted the title of " Royal 
Son of Kaushu from the weaklings who occupied the 
throne at the close of the Bamesside dynasty, he took 
care to install one of the members of his family as high 
priest at Napata, and from henceforward had the whole 
country at his bidding. Subsequently, when Patnotmu II. 
was succeeded by Auputi at Thebes, it seems that the 
Ethiopian priests refused to ratify his election. Whether 
they conferred the supreme power on one of their own 




FLAX OF THE TE3IPLE OF A3ION AT NAPATA. 1 

number, or whether some son of Painotmu, flying from 
the Bubastite kings, arrived at the right moment to 
provide them with a master, is not quite clear. The kings 
of Ethiopia, priests from the first, never lost their 
sacerdotal character. They continued to be men of 
God, and as such it was necessary that they should be 
chosen by the god himself. On the death of a sovereign, 
Amon at once became regent in the person of his prophet, 
and continued to act until the funeral rites were celebrated. 
As soon as these ceremonies were completed, the army 
and the people collected at the foot of the Sacred Mount ; 
the delegates of the various orders of the state were 

1 Reproduced by Faucher-Gudin, from the plan drawn up and published 
by Cailliaud. 



THE DIVINELY APPOINTED MONARCH 259 

* 

led into the sanctuary, and then, in their presence, all 
the males of the royal family "the king s brothers," as 
they were called were paraded before the statue of the 
god ; he on whom the god laid his hand as he passed was 
considered to be the chosen one of Amon, and consecrated 
king without delay. 1 As may be readily imagined, the 
new monarch thus appointed by divine dictation was 
completely under the control of the priests, and before 
long, if he failed to prove sufficiently tractable, they 
claimed the right to dispense with him altogether ; they 
sent him an order to commit suicide, and he obeyed. The 
boundaries of this theocratic state varied at different 
epochs ; originally it was confined to the region between 
the First Cataract and the mouth of the Blue Nile. The 
bulk of the population consisted of settlers of Egyptian 
extraction and Egyptianised natives ; but isolated, as 
they were, from Egypt proper by the rupture of the 
political ties which had bound them to the metropolis, 
they ceased to receive fresh reinforcements from the 
northern part of the valley as they had formerly done, 
and daily became more closely identified with the races 
of various origin which roamed through the deserts of 
Libya or Arabia. This constant infiltration of free or 
slavish Bedawin blood and the large number of black 
women found in the harems of the rich, and even in 
the huts of the common people, quickly impaired the 

1 This is the ritual described in the Stele of the Enthronement. Perhaps 
it was already in use at Thebes under the XXI st and XXII nd dynasties, at 
the election of the high priest, whether he happened to be a king or not ; at 
any rate, a story of the Ptolemaic period told by Synesius in TJie Egyptian 
seems to point to this conclusion. 



200 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 




purity of the race, even among the upper classes of the 
nation, and the type came to resemble that of the negro 

tribes of Equatorial Africa. 1 
The language fared no better 
in the face of this invasion, 
and the written character soon 
became as corrupt as the 
language ; words foreign to the 
Egyptian vocabulary, incor 
rect expressions, and barbarous 
errors in syntax were multi 
plied without stint. The taste 
for art decayed, and technical 
ability began to deteriorate, 
the moral and intellectual standard declined, and the mass 

of the people showed signs 
of relapsing into barbarism : 
the leaders of the aristocracy 
and the scribes alone preserved 
almost intact their inheritance 
from an older civilisation. 
Egypt still attracted them : 
they looked upon it as their 
rightful possession, torn from 
them by alien usurpers in de- 
NEGKO AND ETHIOPIAN TYPE. 2 fiance of all sense of right, 



A NEARLY PURE ETHIOPIAN TYPE. 2 




1 Taharqa furnishes us with a striking example of this degeneration of 
the Egyptian type. His face shows the characteristic features of the black 
race, both on the Egyptian statue as well as on the Assyrian stele of Sinjirli. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Lepsius. 



HEREDITARY RIGHTS OF THE SOVEREIGN 261 

and they never ceased to hope that some day, when the god 
saw fit, they would win back their heritage. Were not 
their kings of the posterity of Sibu, the true representatives 
of the Ramessides and the solar race, compared with 
whom the northern Pharaohs, even those whose mothers 
ranked as " worshippers of Amon, were but mere 
mushroom kings ? Thebes admitted the validity of their 
claims : it looked to them for help, and the revolts 
by which it had been torn ever since the reign of 
Osorkon II. were, perhaps, instigated by the partisans 
of Ethiopia. In the time of Petubastis its high priests, 
Harsiisit and Takeloti, were still connected with the 
Tanites ; after that it placed itself under the immediate 
orders of Ethiopia, and the pontificate disappeared. The 
accession of a sovereign who was himself invested by 
hereditary right with the functions and title of high priest 
of Amon henceforth rendered the existence of such an 
office superfluous at Thebes: it would almost have meant 
an imperium in imperio. The administration of religious, 
and perhaps also of political, affairs was, therefore, handed 
over to the deputy prophet, and this change still further 
enhanced the importance of the " female worshippers 
of the god." In the absence of the king, who had his 
capital at Napata, they remained the sole representatives 
of legitimate authority in the Thebaid : the chief among 
them soon came to be regarded as a veritable Lady of 
Thebes, and, subject to the god, mistress of the city and its 
territory. 

It is not quite clear whether it was Pionkhi Miamun 
or one of his immediate predecessors who took possession 



262 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

of the city. The nomes dependent on Amon followed 
the example of the capital, and the whole Theban territory 
as far as Siut had been occupied by Ethiopian troops, 

when in the twenty- 
first year of the king s 
reign the princes of 
the Delta and Middle 
Egypt appealed to 
the court of Napata 
for help. Even had 
they not begged it to 
do so, it would have 
been compelled before 
long to intervene, for 
Tafnakhtiwas already 
on his way to attack 
it ; Pionkhi charged 
Luamarsakni and Pu- 
arama, the generals 
he had already sta 
tioned in the Thebaid, 
to hold Tafnakhti in 
check, till he was 
able to get together 
the remainder of his 
army and descend 
the Nile to support 
them. Their instructions were to spare none of the 
rebellious towns, but to "capture their men and their 
beasts, and their ships on the river; to allow none of 



Jtunw.fielwpolis 



of the 

MempHite 



ZMMa^^f Ti&z \* 

>*~ *., ,.v": ^V ta gr := ?> ~x <- 
", l/y /."_.. " -* / ^\ I 



CrocodHapm 
j^wtffflnwwj r i 



aJJipirri, 
\jsiif]Tb r San&s ,IircijcLc(n}o H& 



MIDDLE EGYPT 

during the Campaign 



Terebinth &"* 







PIONKHI S GENERALS IN MIDDLE EGYPT 



263 



the fellaheen to go out into the fields, nor any labourer 
to his labour, but to attack Herniopolis and harass it 
daily." They followed out these orders, though, it would 
seem, without result, until the reinforcements from Nubia 
came up : their movements then became more actively 
offensive, and falling on Tafnakhti s ships, which were 
making for Thebes 
heavily laden with 
men and stores, 
they sunk several 
of them. Anxious 
to profit by this 
first success, they 
made straight for 
Heracleopolis with 
a view to reliev- 




RUIXS OF OXYBRHYXCHOS AXD THE MODERN TOWN OF BAHXESA. 1 

ing it. Taihakhti, accompanied by the two kings Namroti 
and Auputi, was directing the siege in person; he had 
under his command, in addition to contingents from 
Busiris, Mendes, Thoth, and PharbaBthos, all the vassals 
of Osorkon III., the successor of Petubastis and titular 
Pharaoh of the whole country. The Ethiopian fleet 
engaged the Egyptian ships at the end of the island of 
Heracleopolis, near the mouth of the canal leading from 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from an engraving in Vivant Denon. 



264 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

the Nile to the Bahr-Yusuf. 1 Tafuakhti was defeated, 
and the remnants of his squadron took refuge in Pipuga 
under cover of his land forces. 2 At dawn, the next day, 
the Ethiopians disembarked and gave battle. The struggle 
was long and fierce, but indecisive. Luamarsakni and 
Puarama claimed the victory, but were obliged to effect 
a retreat on the day following their so-called success, and 
when they dropped anchor in the harbour of Hermopolis, 
they found that Namroti had made his way back to the 
city by land and forestalled them. Powerless to hold 
the field without support, he collected all the men and 
cattle he could lay hands on, and awaited the progress 
of events behind his ramparts. The Ethiopians invested 
the town, and wrote to inform Pionkhi of what they had 
done not, however, without some misgiving as to the 
reception which awaited their despatches. And sure 
enough, " His Majesty became enraged thereat, even as 
a panther : If they have allowed a remnant of the warriors 
of the north to remain, if they have let one of them 
escape to tell of the fight, if they make him not to die 
in their slaughter, then by my life, by the love of Ka, by 
the praise of Amon for me, I will myself go down and 
overthrow that which Tafnakhti hath done, 3 I will compel 

1 The ancient geographers looked upon the nome of Heracleopolis as a 
large island, its southern boundary being, probably, the canal of Harabshent : 
the end of the island, which the Egyptians called "the forepart of Khninsu," 
was probably Harabshent and its environs. 

2 Pi-puga is probably El-Foka, on the Nile, to the north of Harabshent. 

3 The king does not mention his adversary by name in the text ; he is 
content to indicate him by a pronoun in the third person " that which lie 
hath done . . . then will I make him taste," etc. 



UNAPPEASABLE WRATH OF THE KING 265 

him to give up war for ever ! Therefore, after celebrating 
the festivals of the New Year, when I shall have sacrificed 
to Amon of [Napata], my father, in his excellent festival 
wherein he appears in his procession of the New Year, 
when he shall have sent ine in peace to look upon the 
[Theban] Amon in his festivals at Thebes, and when I 
shall have carried his image in procession to Luxor, in 
the festival celebrated in his honour among the festivals 
of Thebes, on the night of the feast appointed in the 
Thebaid, established by Ea at the creation, when I have 
led him in the procession and brought him unto his throne, 
on the day for introducing the god, even the second of 
Athyr, then will I make the enemy taste the savour of 
my claws. The generals did their very utmost to 
appease their master s wrath before he appeared on the 
scene. They told off a force to keep watch over Hermo- 
polis while they themselves marched against the nome 
of Uabu ; they took Oxyrrhynchos by storm, with " the 
fury of a water-spout," and informed the king of this 
achievement; but "his heart was not softened thereby." 
They crossed over to the right bank ; they crushed the 
people of the north under the walls of Tatehni, 1 they 
forced the walls of the town with the battering-ram, and 
killed many of the inhabitants, amongst others a son of 
Tafnakhti, whose body they sent to the king ; but " his 
heart was not softened thereby." They then pushed on 
as far as Halt Bonn 2 and sacked it, but still failed to 

1 The modern Tehneh, on the right bank of the Nile, a little below 
Minieh. 

2 Hait-Bonu, or Habonu, is the Hipponon of the Greco-Roman geographers. 



26b TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

regain favour. On the 9th of Thoth, Pionkhi came down 
to Thebes, and after hasty attendance at the services 
to Arnon, went to rejoin the vanguard of his army under 
the walls of Hermopolis. "No sooner had his Majesty 
quitted the cabin of his ship, than the horses were 
harnessed and the charioteers in their places ; the fear 
of his Majesty spread even to the Nomads of Asia, and 

all hearts trembled before him." 
Pionkhi drove back the enemy 
behind their walls, pitched his 
tent to the south-west of the 

city, threw up 
earth - works, 
and built ter 
races so as to 
place his bow 
men and sling- 
ers on a level 
with the bat 
tlements of its 
towers. At the 

end of three days, Namroti, finding himself hard pressed 
on every side, resolved to surrender. He sent envoys to 
Pionkhi laden with rich presents, and despatched Queen 
Nsitentmahit after them, to beg for mercy from the women 
who had accompanied the Ethiopian, his wives, concu 
bines, daughters, or royal sisters. Their entreaties were 
graciously received, and Namroti ventured to come in 




KING NAilROTI LEADING A HOUSE TO riONKIH. 1 



1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from an impression of the stele in the Gizeh 
Museum. 



PIONKHI VISITS THE TEMPLE OP THOTH 



267 



person, leading a horse with his right hand and shaking 
in his left a sistrum of gold and lapis-lazuli ; he knelt 
down and presented with his salutations the long train 
of gifts which had gone before him. Pionkhi visited the 
temple of Thoth, and there, amidst the acclamations of 
soldiers and priests, offered up the customary sacrifices. 
He then made his way to the palace and inspected its 




EUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF THOTII, AT HERMOPOLIS THE GREAT. 1 

courts, chambers, treasury, and storehouses, and reviewed 
the whole household, including even Namroti s own wives 
and daughters, though " he turned not his face towards 
any one of them." He next went on to the stud-farms, 
and was indignant to find that the horses had suffered 
from hunger during the siege. Thoroughbreds were 
probably somewhat scarce at Napata, and he had, no 
doubt, reckoned on obtaining new blood and a complete 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from an engraving in Vivant Denoii. The portico 
was destroyed about 1820 by the engineers who constructed the sugar 
refinery at Rodah, and now only a few shapeless fragments of it remain. 



2G8 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

relay of chargers from the Egyptian stables ; his chances 
of doing so seemed likely to vanish if brood mares and 
stallions had everywhere been debilitated by the hardships 
of war. He reserved a part of the booty for himself, 
handed over the balance to the priests of Amon at Karnak, 
and also, before he left, received tribute from Heracleopolis. 
Pefzaabastit brought him horses, the pick of his stables, 
slaves laden with gold and silver and precious stones ; 
then burying his face in the dust, he offered worship to 
his liberator : " Hell had swallowed me up, I was plunged 
into darkness, and lo, now a light has been given me. 
Since I have found no man to love me in the day of 
adversity, or to stand by me in the day of battle, save 
only thee, victorious king, who hast torn away the 
night from above me, I will be thy servant, I and all my 
house, and Khninsu shall pay tribute into thy treasury. 
For, as to thee, thou art Harmakhis, chief of the imperish 
able stars, thou art king, even as he is king, and even 
as he doth not destroy himself, neither shalt thou destroy 
thyself!" 

The downfall of Khmunu led all who might still have 
shown resistance in Middle Egypt to lay down their arms 
also. The fortress of Pisakhmakhpirri l dominated the 
gorges of Lahunit, and thus commanded the entrance to 
the Fayum ; but the son of Tafnakhti agreed to surrender 
it, provided he were allowed to march out with the honours 

1 This fortress, which bears a name compounded with that of Osorkon I. , 
must have been rebuilt by that monarch on the site of an earlier fort ; the 
new name remained in use under the XXII ua and XXIII rd dynasties, after 
which the old one reappears. It is Illahun, where Petrie discovered the 
remains of a nourishing town of the Bubastite epoch. 



THE SUBMISSION OF KHMUNU 269 

of war. Shortly after, Maituinu threw open its gates, and 
its example was followed by Titaui ; at Maituinu there was 
noting among the Egyptians in the streets, one party 
wishing to hold out, the other to surrender, hut in the end 
the latter had their way. 1 Pionkhi discharged his priestly 
duties wherever he went, and received the local taxes, always 
being careful to reserve a tenth for the treasury of Ainon- 
Ra ; the fact that his army was kept under rigid control, 
and that he showed great clemency to the vanquished, 
helped largely to conciliate those who were not bound by 
close ties of interest to the cause of Tafnakhti. On reaching 
Memphis, Pionkhi at once had recourse to the persuasive 
methods which had hitherto served him so well, and 
entered into negotiations with the garrison. " Shut not 
yourselves up in forts, and fight not against the Upper 
Country, 2 for Shu the god of creation, when I enter, he 
entereth, and when I go out, he goeth out, and none may 
repel my attacks. I will present offerings to Phtah and to 
the divinities of the White Wall, I will honour Sokari in 
his mysterious coffer, I will contemplate Risanbuf, 3 then I 

1 Maritumu, or Maitumu, is the modern Meidum, associated in the 
inscription with the characteristic epithet, Pisokari-Nibu-Suazu, or " temple 
of Sokari, master of the transfiguration." Titaui lay exactly on the frontier 
between Upper and Lower Egypt hence its name, which signifies "com 
manding the two regions ; " it was in the Memphite nome, and Brugsch 
identifies it with the Greek city of Acanthos, near Dahshur, but this position 
appears to me to be too close to Memphis and too far from the boundary of 
the nome ; I should prefer to place Titaui at Kafr el-Ayat or thereabouts. 

2 I.e. against Pionkhi, who was master of the Upper Country, that is, of 
Thebes and Ethiopia, and the forces from the whole of the valley to the 
south of Memphis who accompanied him. 

3 Lit, "He who is on the South of his Wall," a name given to one of 



270 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

will return from thence in peace. If ye will trust in me, 
Memphis shall be prosperous and healthy, even the children 
shall not cry therein. Behold the nomes of the South ; not 
a soul has been massacred there, saving only the impious 
who blasphemed God, and these rebels have been executed." 
This eloquence, however, was of no avail. A detachment 
of archers, sailors, and engineers sent to make a recon 
naissance of the harbour was taken by surprise and routed 
with loss, and on the following night Tafnakhti suddenly 
made his appearance on the spot. He had the 8000 men 
who were defending it paraded before him, and made them 
a speech, in which he pointed out the great natural strength 
of the position, the stoutness of the walls and the 
abundance of provisions ; he then mounted his horse, and 
making his way a second time through the enemy s out 
posts, headed straight for the Delta in order to levy rein 
forcements there. The next day, Pionkhi went in person to 
examine the approaches of the city in which his ancestors 
had once been throned. There was a full Nile, and the 
river came right up to the walls. He sailed close in along 
the whole of the eastern front, and landed on the north, 
much vexed and discomfited at finding it so strongly 
fortified. Even the common soldiers were astonished, and 
began to discuss among themselves the difficulties of the 
undertaking with a certain feeling of discouragement. It 
would be necessary, they declared, to open a regular siege, 
" to make an inclined plane leading to the city, throw up 
earthworks against its walls, bind ladders, set up masts and 

the quarters of Memphis, and afterwards applied to the god Phtah, who was 
worshipped in that quarter. 



PIONKHI CAPTURES MEMPHIS 271 

erect spars all around it," Pionkhi burst into a rage when 
these remarks were repeated to him : a siege in set form 
would have been a most serious enterprise, and would have 
allowed the allied princes time to get together fresh troops. 
He drove his ships full speed against the line of boats 
anchored in the harbour, and broke through it at the first 
onset ; his sailors then scaled the bank and occupied the 
houses which overlooked it. Reinforcements concentrated 
on this point gradually penetrated into the heart of the city, 
and after two days fighting the garrison threw down their 
arms. The victor at once occupied the temples to save 
them from pillage : he then purified Memphis with water 
and natron, ascended in triumph to the temple of Phtah, 
and celebrated there those rites which the king alone was 
entitled to perform. The other fortresses in the neighbour 
hood surrendered without further hesitation. King Auputi 
of Tentramu, 1 prince Akaneshu, 2 and prince Petisis tendered 
the homage of their subjects in person, and the other 
sovereigns of the Delta merely waited for a demonstration 
in force on the part of the Ethiopians before following 
their example. Pionkhi crossed the Nile and marched in 
state to Heliopolis, there to receive the royal investiture. 

1 Probably the original of the statue discovered by Naville at Tel-el- 
Yahudiyeh. Tentramu and Taanu, the cities of Auputi, are perhaps identical 
with the biblical Elim (Exod. xvi. 1) and the Daneon Portus of Pliny on the 
Red Sea, but Naville prefers to identify Daneon with the Tonu of the Berlin 
Papyrus No. 1. I believe that we ought to look for the kingdom of Auputi 
in the neighbourhood of Menzaleh, near Tanis. 

2 Akaneshu ruled over Sebennytos and in the XVII th nome. Naville 
discovered at Samannud the statue of one of his descendants, a king of the 
same name, perhaps his grandson, who was prince of Sebennytos in the time 
of Psammetichus I. 



272 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AXD THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

He offered up prayers at the various holy places aloug the 
route, such as the sanctuary of Tumu at Khriahu and the 
temple of the Ennead who dwelt in the cavern from which 
the Northern Nile was supposed to spring ; he then crossed 
over Mount Ahu, bathed his face in the reputed source of 
the river, and at length penetrated into the dwelling-place 
of Ka. He ascended the steps leading to the great chapel 
in order that he might there " see Ra in Hait-Banbonu 
even himself. All unattended, he drew the bolt, threw 
open the doors, contemplated his father Ka in Hait- 
Banbonu, adjusted Ka s boat Madit and the Saktit of Shu, 
then closed the doors again, affixed a seal of clay, and 
impressed it with the royal signet." He had thus sub 
mitted his conduct for the approval of the god in whom all 
attributes of royalty were vested, and the god had legitima- 
tised his claims to universal rule : he was henceforth the 
master, not merely de jure but de facto as well, and the 
kings who had hitherto declined to recognise him were now 
obliged to bow reverently before his authority. 

Osorkon was the first to submit, and did so before the 
close of Pionkhi s stay at Heliopolis ; when the latter 
pitched his camp near Kahani l in the Athribite nome, the 
nobles of the Eastern Delta, both small and great, came 
one after another with their followers ; among them 
Patinifi of Pisapti, Paimau of Busiris, Pabisa of Khriahu 
and of Pihapi, 2 besides a dozen others. He extended his 

1 Kahani is, perhaps, the modern Kaha, some distance to the north of 
Qaliub. 

2 Pisapti stood on the present site of Shaft-el-Hineh. Khriahu, as we 
know, formed part of the Heliopolitan nome, and is, very possibly, to be 



TAFNAKHTI SUES FOR PEACE 273 

favour to all alike, merely stipulating that they should 
give him the best of their horses, and undertake to keep 
careful watch over the prosperity of their stud farms. But 
Tafhakhti still held out, and seemed determined to defy 
him to the end ; he had set fire to his palace and taken 
refuge in the islands on the river, and had provided a 
hiding-place for himself at Masudit among the marshes on 
the coast in case of final defeat. A victory gained over 
him by the Ethiopian generals suddenly induced him to 
sue for peace. He offered to disband his men and pay 
tribute, provided he was guaranteed undisturbed possession 
of Sais and of the western districts of the Delta ; he 
refused, however, to sue for pardon in person, and asked 
that an envoy should be sent to receive his oath of 
allegiance in the temple of Nit. Though deserted by 
his brother princes and allies, he still retained sufficient 
power to be a thorn in his conqueror s side ; his ultimate 
overthrow was certain, but it would have entailed many 
a bloody struggle, while a defeat might easily have shaken 
the fidelity of the other feudatory kings, and endangered 
the stability of the new dynasty. Pionkhi, therefore, 
accepted the terms offered him without modification, and 
asked for no guarantee beyond the oath taken in the 
presence of the gods. News was brought him about this 
time that Cynopolis and Aphroditopolis had at last thrown 
open their gates, and accordingly he summoned his vassals 
for the last time to his camp near Athribis. With the 
exception of Tafnakhti, they all obeyed the call, including 

identified with Babylon of Egypt, the Fostat of the Arabs ; Pihapi was a 
place not far from the supposed source of the Southern Nile. 

VOL. VII. T 



274 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

two minor kings of Upper and two of Lower Egypt, 
together with barons of lesser rank ; but of these, Namroti 
alone was admitted to the royal apartments, because he 
alone was circumcised and ate no fish ; after this the camp 
was broken up, and the Ethiopians set out on their return 
journey southwards. Pionkhi may well have been proud 
of the result of this campaign, both for himself and for 
his country. The empire of the Pharaohs, which had for 
the last hundred and fifty years been divided, was now 
re-established from the confluence of the Niles to the 
shores of the Mediterranean, but it was no longer Egypt 
that benefited by the change. It was now, after many 
years of slavery, the turn of Ethiopia to rule, and the seat 
of power was transferred from Thebes or Memphis to 
Napata. As a matter of fact, the fundamental constitution 
of the kingdom underwent no great modification ; it had 
merely one king the more to rule over it not a stranger, 
as we are often tempted to conclude, when we come to 
measure these old-world revolutions by our modern 
standards of patriotism, but a native of the south, who 
took the place of those natives of the north who had 
succeeded one another on the throne since the days of 
Smendes. In fact, this newly crowned son of Ra lived 
a very long way off ; he had no troops of his own further 
north than Siut, and he had imposed his suzerainty on the 
rival claimants and reigning princes without thereby 
introducing any change in the constitution of the state. 
In tendering their submission to him, the heads of the 
different nomes had not the slightest intention of parting 
with their liberty; they still retained it, even though 



THE ETHIOPIAN CONQUEST 275 

nominally dependent, and continued, as in the past, to 
abuse it without scruple. Namroti was king at Khmunu, 
Pefzaabastit at Khninsu, Auputi at Tentramu, and Osorkon 
III. at Bubastis ; the prestige investing the Tanite race 
persisted so effectively that the annalists give to the last- 
named precedence over the usurpers of the Ethiopian 
dynasty ; the Tanites continued to be the incarnate repre 
sentatives of legitimate power, and when Osorkon III. died, 
in 732, it was his son Psamutis who was regarded as the 
Lord of Egypt. Tafnakhti had, in his defeat, gained 
formal recognition of his royalty. He was no longer a 
mere successful adventurer, a hero of the hour, whose 
victories were his only title-deeds, whose rights rested 
solely on the argument of main force. Pionkhi, in granting 
him amnesty, had conferred official investiture on him and 
on his descendants. Henceforth his rule at Sais was every 
whit as legitimate as that of Osorkon at Bubastis, and he 
was not slow in furnishing material proof of this, for he 
granted himself cartouches, the urasus, and all the other 
insignia of royalty. These changes must have been 
quickly noised abroad throughout Asia. Commercial 
intercourse between Syria and Egypt was maintained as 
actively as ever, and the merchant caravans and fleets 
exported with regularity the news of events as well as the 
natural products of the soil or of industry. The tidings of 
an Ethiopian conquest and of the re-establishment of an 
undivided empire in the valley of the Nile, coming as they 
did at the very moment when the first effects of the 
Assyrian revival began to be so keenly felt, could not fail 
to attract the attention and arouse the hopes of Syrian 



276 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

statesmen. The Philistines, who had never entirely 
released themselves from the ties which bound them to the 
Pharaohs of the Delta, felt no repugnance at asking for a 







KING TAFXAKHTI PRESENTS A FIELD TO TUMU AXD TO BASTIT. 1 

renewal of their former protection. As for the Phoenicians, 
the Hebrews, Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Damascus, they 
began to consider whether they had not here, in Africa, 
among the members of a race favourably disposed towards 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from Mallet s photograph of the stele in the Museum 
at Athens. 



A CHOICE: EGYPT OR ASSYRIA 277 

them by the memories of the past and by its ambition, 
hereditary allies against Nineveh. The fact that Egypt 
was torn by domestic dissensions and divided into a score 
of rival principalities in no way diminished their traditional 
admiration for its wealth or their confidence in its power ; 
Assyria itself was merely an agglomeration of turbulent 
provinces, vassal cities, and minor kingdoms, artificially 
grouped round the ancient domain of Assur, and yet the 
convulsions by which it was periodically shaken had not 
prevented it from developing into the most formidable 
engine of war that had ever threatened the peace of Asia. 
The African hosts, whether led by ordinary generals or by 
a king of secondary rank, formed none the less a compact 
army well fitted by numbers and organisation to hold its 
own against any forces which Tiglath-pileser might put 
into the field; and even should the supreme Pharaoh be 
unwilling to throw the full weight of his authority into the 
balance, yet an alliance with one of the lesser kings, such 
as the lord of Sais or of Bubastis, would be of inestimable 
assistance to any one fortunate enough to secure it. It is 
true that, in so far as the ultimate issue was concerned, 
there was little to be gained by thus pitting the two great 
powers together and persuading one to fight against the 
other ; the victor must, in the long run, remain master 
alike of those who had appealed for help and of those who 
had fought against him, and if Egypt emerged triumphant, 
there would be nothing for it but to accept her supremacy. 
In either event, there could be no question of indepen 
dence ; it was a choice between the hegemony of Egypt or 
that of Assyria. 



278 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

From the moment that Tiglath-pileser had made his 
appearance on the northern horizon, the nations of Southern 
Syria had instinctively looked to Pharaoh for aid. There 
seems to have been an Egyptian faction in Samaria, even 
during the disorders which broke out after the death of 
Jeroboam II., and perhaps it was a hope of overcoming it 
easily which led Menahern of his own accord to invoke the 
still remote suzerainty of Nineveh, after the fall of Unki 
in 738 ; * later on, when Pekah had assassinated Pekahiah 
and entered into alliance with Beziu, he adopted the view 
of those who saw no hope of safety save from the banks 
of the Nile, his only reason for doing so being, apparently, 
because the kings of the fallen dynasty had received 
support from the valley of the Tigris. Hosea continually 
reproached his countrymen with this vacillating policy, 
and pointed out the folly of it : " Ephraim is like a silly 
dove without understanding ; they call unto Egypt, they 
go unto Assyria ; when they shall go I will spread My net 
upon^them," said the Eternal. 2 They were to be given 
up to Assyria and dispersed, and while some were to go 

1 The existence of an Egyptian faction at this period has been admitted 
by Kittel. Winckler has traced to the Arabian or Idumsean Muzri every 
thing previously referred to Egypt. His arguments seem to me to be, in 
many cases, convincing, as I shall point out where necessary, but I think he 
carries his theory too far when he systematically excludes Egypt and puts 
Muzri in its place. Egypt, even in its decadent state, was a far more 
important power than the Arabian Muzri, and it seems unreasonable to 
credit it with such a limited share in the politics of the time. I cannot 
believe that any other power is intended in most of those passages in the 
Hebrew writings and Assyrian inscriptions in which the words Mizraim 
and Muzri occur. 

2 Hos. vii. 11, 12. 



THE CALL OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH 279 

into Assur and eat unclean food, Ephraim was to return 
into Egypt ; " for, lo, they are gone away from destruction, 
yet Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury 
them." l Nevertheless, they persisted in negotiating with 
Egypt, and though there was as yet no formal alliance 
between Samaria and Sais or Tanis, their relations were 
so close that no enemy of Israel could look for protection 
from Psamuti or his vassals. Ahaz had, therefore, nothing 
to hope from this quarter, and was compelled by the force 
of circumstances to throw himself into the arms of Assyria, 
if he decided to call in outside aid at all. His prophets, 
like those of Pekah, strenuously forbade him to do so, 
and among them was one who was beginning to exert a 
marvellous influence over all classes of society Isaiah, the 
son of Amoz. He had begun his career in the year that 
Uzziah died, 2 and had continued to prophesy without 
interruption during the brief reign of Jotham. 3 When 
Jahveh first appeared to him, in the smoke of the altar, 
seated on a throne and surrounded by seraphim, a sense 
of his own unworthiness filled him with fear, but an angel 
purified his lips with a live coal, and he heard the voice 
of the Lord saying, " Whom shall I send, and who will 
go for us?" and he replied, "Here am I; send me," 
whereupon Jahveh gave him this message : " Hear ye 



1 Hoa. ix. 3-6. 2 Isa. vi. 1. 

3 The fragments which can bo assigned to this period now occur as 
follows : chap. ii. 2-5 (verses 2-4 are also found in MicaJt iv. 1-3, and were, 
perhaps, borrowed from some third prophet), ii. 6-22, iii., iv., v. 1-24 (the 
Parable of the Vineyard), and lastly, chap, vi., in so far as the substance 
is concerned ; it seems to have been put into its present form long after the 
events. 



280 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

indeed, but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but 
perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make 
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with 
their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with 
their heart, and turn again and be healed." Then the 
prophet asked, " Lord, how long ? " And Jahveh answered, 
" Until cities be waste without inhabitant and houses 
without man, and the land become utterly waste, and 
Jahveh have removed men far away, and the forsaken 
places be many in the midst of the land. And if there be 
yet a tenth in it, it shall be eaten up ; as a terebinth, and 
as an oak, whose stock remaineth when they are felled, 
so the holy seed is the stock thereof." 1 Judah, though 
less powerful, was quite as corrupt as his brethren of Israel, 
and the divine wrath threatened him no less than them ; 
it rested with himself, however, to appease it by repentance, 
and to enter again into divine favour after suffering his 
punishment ; the Eternal would then gather together on 
Mount Sion those of His faithful people who had survived 
the crisis, and would assure them a long period of prosperity 
under His law. The prophet, convinced that men could 
in no wise alter the decrees of the Highest, save by 
repentance alone, was astonished that the heads of the 
state should strive to impede the progress of events that 
were happening under their very eyes, by the elaborately 
useless combinations of their worldly diplomacy. To his 
mind, the invasion of Pekah and Rezin was a direct 
manifestation of the divine anger, and it filled him with 
indignation that the king should hope to escape from it 

1 Isa. vi. 9-13. 



ISAIAH S REMARKABLE PROPHECY 281 

by begging for an alliance against them with one of the 
great powers : when Jahveh should decide that the punish 
ment was sufficient for the crime, He would know how 
to shatter His instruments without any earthly help. 
Indeed, Isaiah had already told his master, some days 
before the allied kings appeared, while the latter was busy 
superintending the works intended to supply Jerusalem 
with water, to " Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither 
let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking 
firebrands. 1 . . . Because Syria hath counselled evil against 
thee, Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying, Let 
us go up against Judah, hem it in, carry it by storm, and 
set up the son of Tabeel as king : thus saith the Lord God, 
It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." If, 
however, the course of the divine justice was to be dis 
turbed by the intervention of a purely human agency, the 
city would doubtless be thereby saved, but the matter 
would not be allowed to rest there, and the people would 
suffer even more at the hands of their allies than they had 
formerly endured from their enemies. " Behold, a virgin 
shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name 
Irnmanuel God with us. ... For before the child shall 
know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land 
whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken," and 
yet " Jahveh shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, 
and upon thy father s house, days that have not come, 

1 An explanatory gloss, " the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and of the 
son of Remaliah," which formed no part of the original prophecy, is here 
inserted in the text. 

2 Isa. vii. 1-9. 



282 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah." 1 And 
then, employing one of those daring apologues, common 
enough in his time, the prophet took a large tablet and 
wrote upon it in large letters two symbolical names Spoil- 
speedeth, Prey-hasteth and set it up in a prominent place, 
and with the knowledge of credible witnesses went in unto 
the prophetess his wife. When the child was born in due 
course, Jahveh bade him call it Spoil- speedeth, Prey-hasteth, 
11 for before he shall have knowledge to cry, My father, 
and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of 
Samaria shall be carried away before the King of Assyria." 
But the Eternal added, " Forasmuch as this people hath 
refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in 
Kezin and Remaliah s son ; now therefore, behold, the 
Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river [the 
Euphrates], strong and many : 2 and he shall come up over 
all his channels, and go over all his banks : and he shall 
sweep onward into Judah ; he shall overflow and pass 
through; he shall reach even to the neck, and the 
stretching of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, 
Immanuel [God-with-us] ! " 3 

Finding that Egypt was in favour of his adversaries, 
Ahaz, in spite of the prophet s warnings, turned to Assyria. 4 
At one time he had found himself so hard pressed that 

1 Isa. vii. 10-17. 

A marginal gloss has here been inserted in the text, indicating that it 
was " the King of Assyria and all his glory " that the prophet referred to. 

3 Isa. viii. 1-8. 

The following portions of Isaiah are accepted as belonging to the period 
of this Syrian war: in addition to chap, vii., chaps, viii.-ix. 6; xi. 1-9; 
xxii. 1-11 ; i. 4-9, 18-32 ; to these Kuenen adds chap, xxiii. 1-14. 







Refwbotho ly^Jif 

ET"^ 

" .Petra- 





au- 



%;j 

; i If;: .,. ^ 

, /\Ql^4JJr^ THE KINGDOM 

OF DAMASCUS. 




Scale 



" That ll I e rdQ 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 733 AGAINST ISRAEL 285 

he invoked the aid of the Syrian gods, and made his eldest 
son pass through the fire in order to propitiate them : l 
he collected together all the silver and gold he could 
find in his own treasury or in that of the temple and 
sent it to Tiglath-pileser, with this message: " I am thy 
servant and thy son : come up and save me out of the 
hand of the King of Syria, and out of the hand of the 
King of Israel, which rise up against me." 2 Tiglath- 
pileser came in haste, and Rezin and Pekah, at the mere 
tidings of his approach, desisted from their attack on 
Jerusalem, separated, and retired each to his own king 
dom. The Assyrian king did not immediately follow 
them up. He took the road leading along the coast, 
after leaving the plains of the middle Orontes, and levied 
tribute from the Phoenician cities as he passed; he then 
began by attacking the western frontier of Israel, and 
sent a body of troops against the Philistines, who were 
ceaselessly harassing Judah. Hannon, King of Gaza, did 
not await the attack, but fled to Egypt for safety, and 
Ahaz breathed freely, perhaps for the first time since 
his accession. This, however, was only a beginning; 
the real struggle took place in the following year, and 
was hotly contested. In spite of the sorry pass to which 
its former defeats and present discords had brought it, 
Damascus still possessed immense wealth, and its army, 
when reinforced by the Arabian and Israelite contingents, 

1 2 Kings xvi. 3 (cf. 2 Chron. xxviii. 3). There is nothing to indicate the 
date, but most historians place the event at the beginning of the Syrian 
war, a little before or during the siege. 

- Kings xvi. 7, 8 ; cf. 2 Chron. xxviii. 16, 20, 21. 



286 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

was capable of holding its own for a long time against 
the battalions of Assyria, even if it could not hope to 
conquer them. Unfortunately for its chances, Eezin had 
failed to inherit the military capacity of his great prede 
cessors, Ben-hadad and Hazael ; he allowed Tiglath-pileser 
to crush the Hebrews without rendering them any effective 
assistance. Pekah fought his best, but he lost, one 
after another, the strongholds which guarded his northern 
frontier Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and 
Hazor; he saw the whole of Naphtali and Gilead laid 
waste, and their inhabitants carried off into Assyria with 
out his being able to prevent it ; he himself being obliged 
to evacuate Samaria and take refuge in the mountains 
almost unattended. Judah followed, with mingled exul 
tation and disquietude, the vicissitudes of the tragic drama 
which was thus enacted before its eyes, and Isaiah 
foretold the speedy ruin of the two peoples who had 
but yesterday threatened to enslave it. He could already see 
the following picture in his mind s eye : " Damascus is taken 
away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 
The cities of Aroer are forsaken : they shall be for flocks, 
which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 1 
The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the king 
dom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria : they shall 
be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord 

1 Both of these Aroers lay beyond Jordan one in Reuben, afterwards 
Moab (Judg. xi. 26 ; Jer. xlviii. 19) ; the other in Ammon, afterwards Gad 
(Josh. xiii. 25 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 5) ; here they stand for the countries beyond 
Jordan which Tiglath-pileser had just laid waste. The tradition preserved 
in 1 CJiron. v. 26 stated that these inhabitants of Gad and Reuben were led 
into captivity by Pul, i.e. Tiglath-pileser. 



THE FALL OF THE KINGDOM OF DAMASCUS 

of hosts! And it shall come to pass in that day, that 
the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness 
of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when 
the harvestman gathereth the standing corn, and his arin 
reapeth the ears ; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth 
ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet there shall be left 
therein gleanings, as the shaking of an olive tree, two 
or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, 
four or five in the outmost branches of a fruitful tree, 
saith Jahveh, the God of Israel ! ... In that day shall 
his strong cities be as the forsaken places in the wood, 
and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before 
the children of Israel: 1 and it shall be as a desolation. 
For thou hast forgotten the G-od of thy salvation." 
Samaria was doomed to helplessness for many a day to 
come, if not for ever, but it had taken a whole year 
to lay it low (733) ; Tiglath-pileser returned in 732, and 
devoted yet another year to the war against Damascus. 
Rezin had not been dismayed by the evil fortune of 
his friends, and had made good his losses by means of 
fresh alliances. He had persuaded first Mutton II. of 
Tyre, then Mitinti of Askalon, and with the latter a 
section of the Philistines, to throw in their lot with him ; 
he had even won over Sharnshieh, queen of the Arabs, and 
with her a number of the most warlike of the desert 
tribes ; for himself, he had taken up a position on the 
further side of Anti-Lebanon, and kept strict watch from 

1 This is probably an allusion to the warlike exploits performed during 
Rezin and Pekah s invasion of Judaea, a year or two previously. 

2 Isa. xvii. 1-6, 9, 10. 



288 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



Mount Herinon on the roads leading from the valley of 
the Jordan to the plains of the Abana, in order to prevent 
the enemy from outflanking him and taking him in the 
rear. But all to no purpose ; Tiglath-pileser bore directly 
down upon him, overwhelmed him in a pitched battle, 




MOUNT IIERMOX. 



c 1 



obliged him to take refuge behind the walls of Damascus, 
and there besieged him. The city was well fortified, 
amply supplied with provisions, and strongly garrisoned; 
the siege was, therefore, a long one, and the Assyrians 
filled up the time by laying waste the fertile country 
at the foot of Anti-Lebanon. At last Eezin yielded, gave 
himself up unconditionally, and was forthwith executed: 
eight thousand of his followers were carried off to 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph brought back by Lortrt. 



HOSHEA S REBELLION 



289 




Kir, on the confines of Elarn, 1 his kingdom was 
abolished, and a Ninevite governor was installed in his 
palace, by whom the former domain of Damascus and 
the territory lately wrested from Israel were henceforth 
to be administered. The coalition 
he had formed did not long survive 
its leader. 2 Mutton hastily came 
to an understanding with the con 
queror ; Mitinti, like Hannon, fled 
into Egypt, and his place was taken 
by Eukibtu, a partisan of Assyria. 
Hoshea, son of Elah, rebelled 
against Pekah, assassinated him, 
and purchased the right to reign over what was left of 
Israel for ten talents of gold. 4 Shamshieh alone held out. 

1 2 Kings xvi. 9. Kir is generally located in Armenia, Media, or 
Babylonia ; a passage in Isaiah (xxii. 6), however, seems to point to its 
having been somewhere in the direction of Elam, and associated with the 
Aramaeans on the banks of the Tigris. The Assyrian monuments have not, 
as yet, yielded confirmation of the details given by the Book of the Kings in 
regard to the captivity of the inhabitants of Damascus. A fragmentary 
tablet, giving an account of the death of Rezin, was discovered by H. Ra\v- 
linson, but it was left in Assyria, and no one knows what has since become 
of it. 

2 The following is a list of the kings of Damascus from the time of 
David, as far as is known up to the present time : 



AN AKAB. 3 



REZIN I. 

KHEZI6N? 

TABRIMMON. 

BEN-HADAD I. 

ADADIDEI (BEN-HADAD II.). 



HAZAEL. 
BEN-HADAD III. 
MAR!. 



REZIN II. 



3 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Layard. 

4 2 Kings xv. 30, The inscription published by H. Rawlinson, merely 

VOL. VII. U 



290 



TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



She imagined herself to be safe among the sands of the 
desert, and it never occurred to her that the heavy masses 
of the Assyrian army would dream of venturing into these 
solitudes. Detachments of light cavalry were sent in 
pursuit of her, and at first met with some difficulties; 
they were, however, eventually successful ; the Armenian 
and Cappadocian steeds of the Ninevite horsemen easily 




ARAB MEIIARIS RIDDEN DOWN BY THE ASSYRIAN CAVALRY. 1 

rode down the queen s meharis. Their success made a 
great impression on the Arab tribes, and induced the 
Mashai, Timal Sabseans, Khaiapseans, Badaneeans, and 
Khattiseans to bend the knee before Assyria! They all 
sent envoys bearing presents of gold and silver, camels, 
both male and female, and spices: 2 even the Muzri, 

states that " they overthrew Pekah, their king, and I promoted Auzi [to 
the kingship] over them. I received [from him] X talents of gold and . . . 
talents of silver. . . . 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the bas-relief reproduced by Layard. 

2 Delitzsch has identified the names of several of these races with 
names mentioned in the Bible, such as the Temah, Massah, Ephah, 
Sheba. 



Arab School 



END OF THE BABYLONIAN DYNASTY 291 

whose territory lay to the south of the Dead Sea, followed 
their example, and a certain Idibiel was appointed as 
their chief. 1 While his lieutenants were settling out 
standing issues in this fashion, Tiglath-pileser held open 
courts at Damascus, where he received the visits and 
homage of the Syrians. They came to assure themselves 
by the evidence of their own eyes of the downfall of 
the power which had for more than one hundred years 
checked the progress of Assyria. Those who, like Uassarmi 
of Tabal, showed any sign of disaffection were removed, 
the remainder were confirmed in their dignities, subject 
to payment of the usual tribute, and Mutton of Tyre 
was obliged to give one hundred talents of gold to 
ransom his city. Ahaz came to salute his preserver, 
and to obtain a nearer view of the soldiers to whom 
he owed continued possession of Jerusalem ; 2 the kings 
of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Askalon, the Philistines 
and the nomads of the Arabian desert, carried away by 
the general example, followed the lead of Judah, until 
there was not a single prince or lord of a city from 
the Euphrates to the river of Egypt who had not 
acknowledged himself the humble vassal of Nineveh. 

With the downfall of Eezin, Syria s last hope of 
recovery had vanished ; the few states which still enjoyed 
some show of independence were obliged, if they wished 
to retain it, to make a parade of unalterable devotion to 

The name Muzri, as Winckler has shown, here refers, not to Egypt, 
but to a canton near Edom, the Nabataea of the Greco-Koman geographers. 

2 Kings xvi. 10-12. The Nimroud Inscrip. merely mentions his tribute 
among that of the Syrian kings. 



292 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

their Ninevite master, or if they found his suzerainty 
intolerable had to risk everything by appealing to Egypt 

for help. 

Much as they may have wished from the very first to 
do so, it was too early to make the attempt so soon after the 
conference at Damascus ; Tiglath-pileser had, therefore, no 
cause to fear a rebellion among them, at any rate for some 
years to come, and it was just as well that this was so, for 
at the moment of his triumph on the shores of the 
Mediterranean his interests in Chaldaea were threatened by 
a serious danger. Nabonazir, King of Karduniash, had 
never swerved from the fidelity which he had sworn to his 
mighty ally after the events of 745, but the tranquillity of 
his reign had been more than once disturbed by revolt. 
Borsippa itself had risen on one occasion, and endeavoured 
to establish itself as an independent city side by side with 

Babylon. 

When Nabonazir died, in 734, he was succeeded by his 
son Nabunadinziri, but at the end of a couple of years 
the latter was assassinated during a popular outbreak, 
and Nabushumukln, one of his sons, who had been 
implicated in the rising, usurped the crown (732). He 
wore it for two months and twelve days, and then abdicated 
in favour of a certain Ukinzir. 1 The latter was chief of the 

1 The following is as complete a list as can at present be compiled of this 
Babylonian dynasty, the eighth of those registered in Pinches Canons (cf. 
ROST, UntersucJi. zur altorient. GescJi ., p. 27) :- 



NABU-K!NABAL ? 



SHAMASH-MUDAMMIQ. 



NABU-SHUMISHKUN I. 

NABU-ABA L-IDDINA. 
MAKDUK-NADIN-SHUMU, 



THE TWO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST UKIXZIR 293 

Bit-Amukkani, one of the most important among the 
Chaldean communities ; l the descendants of the Aramaean 
nomads were thus once more placed upon the throne, and 
their accession put an end to the relations which had 
existed for several centuries between Assyria and 
Karduniash. These marauders, who had always shown 
themselves impatient of any settled authority, and had 
never proffered more than a doubtful submission to even the 
most triumphant invader, were not likely to accept the 
subordinate position which members of the presiding 
dynasty had been, for the most part, content to occupy. 
It was more probable that they would, from the very first, 
endeavour to throw off the suzerainty of Nineveh. Tiglath- 
pileser gave the new dynasty no time to settle itself firmly 
on the throne : the year after his return from Syria he got 
together an army and marched against it. He first cleared 
the right bank of the Tigris, where the Pukudu (Pekod) 
offered but a feeble resistance ; he annexed their territory 
to the ancient province of Arrapkha, then crossed the river 

MARDUK-BALAT.SUIKBI. 



BAU-AKHIDDIX 



XABU-SHCMISHKUX II. 
XABC-XAZIR (XABOXASSAR). 



XABU-KADIX-ZIRI. 
XABU-SHUMUKIX. 

It included twenty-two kings, and lasted for about three hundred and fifty 
years. 

The chronicle is silent with regard to the origin of Ukinzir, but 
Tiglath-pileser, who declines to give him the title of " King of Babylon," 
says that he was mar AmukMni = son of Amukkani. Pinches Canon 
indicates that Ukinzir belonged to a dynasty the name of which may be 
read either Shashi or Shapi. The reading Shapi at once recalls the name 
of Shapia, one of the chief cities of the Bit-Amukkani ; it would thus con 
firm the evidence of the Xiruroud Inscription. 



294 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

and attacked the Kaldi scattered among the plains and 
marshes of the Shatt el-Hai. The Blt-Shilani were the 
first to succumb ; their king Nabushabshi was impaled 
before one of the gates of his capital, Sarrabanu, the town 
itself was taken by storm, plundered and dismantled, and 
55,000 of its inhabitants were led captive into Assyria. 
After the Btt-Shilani, came the turn of the Bit-Shaali. 
Dur-Illatai, their capital, was razed to the ground, and its 

population, numbering 50,400 men and 
women, was deported. Their chief, 
Lakiru, who had shown great bravery 
in the struggle, escaped impalement, but 
was sent into captivity with his people, 
a Ninevite governor being appointed in 
his place. Ukinzir, who was, as we 
know, hereditary prince of the Bit-Amuk- 
kani, came up in haste to defend his 
appanage, and threw himself into his fortress at Shapia : 
Tiglath-pileser cut down the gardens and groves of palms 
which lent it beauty, burnt the surrounding farms and vil 
lages, and tried, without success, to make a breach in the 
walls ; he still, however, maintained the siege, but when 
winter came on and the place still held out, he broke up his 
camp and retreated in good order, leaving the districts 
which he had laid waste occupied by an Assyrian force. 
Before his departure, he received homage and tribute from 
most of the Aramasan chiefs, including those of Balasu and 
the Bit-Dakkuri, of Nadlnu, and even of the Bit-Yakin and 
Merodach-baladan, whose ancestors had never before 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a woodcut published by Tomkins. 




TIGLATH-PILESER KING OF SUMIR AND AKKAD 295 

" kissed the foot of an Assyrian conqueror. In this 
campaign he had acquired nearly three-fourths of the whole 
Babylonian kingdom ; but Babylon itself still refused to 
yield, and it was no easy task to compel it to do so. 
Tiglath-pileser spent the whole of the year 730 in preparing 
for another attack, and in 729 he again appeared in front of 
Shapla, this time with greater success : Ukinzir fell into 
his hands, Babylon opened its gates, and he caused himself 
to be proclaimed King of Sumir and Akkad within its walls. 1 
Many centuries had passed since the two empires had been 
united under the rule of a single master, or an Assyrian 
king had " taken the hands of Bel." Tiglath-pileser 
accepted the condition attached to this solemn investiture, 
which obliged him to divide his time between Calah and 
Babylon, and to repeat at every festival of the New Year 
the mystic ceremony by which the god of the city con 
firmed him in his office. 2 His Babylonian subjects seem to 
have taken a liking to him, and perhaps in order to hide 
from themselves their dependent condition, they shortened 
his purely Assyrian name of Tukulti-abal-esharra into the 
familiar sobriquet of Puru or Pulu, under which appellation 
the native chroniclers later on inscribed him in the official 
list of kings : he did not long survive his triumph, but died 

L Contemporary documents do not furnish us with any information as to 
these events. The Eponym Canon tells us that " the king took the hands of 
Bel." Pinches Chronicle adds that " in the third year of Ukinzir, Tiglath- 
pileser marched against Akkad, laid waste the Bit-Amukkani, and took 
Ukinzir prisoner ; Ukinzir had reigned three years in Babylon. Tiglath- 
pileser followed him upon the throne of Babylon." 

2 The Eponym Canon proves that in 728 B.C., the year of his death, he 
once more took the hands of Bel. 



296 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

in the month of Tebeth, 728 B.C., after having reigned 
eighteen years over Assyria, and less than two years over 
Babylon and Chaldsea. 

The formula employed by the scribes in recording 
historical events vary so little from one reign to another, 
that it is, in most cases, a difficult matter to make out, 
under the mask of uniformity by which they are all 
concealed, the true character and disposition of each 
successive sovereign. One thing, however, is certain 
the monarch who now came upon the scene after half 
a century of reverses, and in a brief space restored to 
his armies the skill necessary to defeat such formidable 
foes as the Armenians or the Syrians of Damascus, must 
have been an able general and a born leader of men. Yet 
Nineveh had never suffered long from a lack of capable 
generals, and there would be little to distinguish Tiglath- 
pileser from any of his predecessors, if we could place 
nothing more than a few successful campaigns to his 
credit. His claim to a pre-eminent place among them 
rests on the fact that he combined the talents of the 
soldier with the higher qualities of the administrator, and 
organised his kingdom in a manner at once so simple 
and so effective, that most of the Oriental powers down 
to the time of the Grecian conquest were content to 
accept it as a model. As soon as the ambition of the 
Assyrian kings began to extend beyond the region confined 
between the Khabur and the Greater Zab, they found it 
necessary to parcel out their territory into provinces under 
the authority of prefects for the purpose of preserving 
order among the vanquished peoples, and at the same 



CREATION OF NEW PROVINCES 297 

time of protecting them from the attacks of adjacent 
tribes ; these representatives of the central power were 
supported by garrisons, and were thus enabled to put down 
such minor insurrections as broke out from time to time. 
Some of these provinces were already in existence in the 
reigns of Shalmaneser or Tiglath-pileser I. ; after the 
reverses in the time of Assurirba, their number decreased, 
but it grew rapidly again as Assur-nazir-pal and Shal 
maneser III. gradually extended the field of their operations 
and of their victories. From this epoch onwards, the 
monuments mention over a score of them, in spite of 
the fact that the list thus furnished is not a complete 
one ; the provinces of which we know most are those whose 
rulers were successively appointed to act as limmi, each 
of them giving their name to a year of a reign. Assyria 
proper contained at least four, viz. Assur (called the 
country, as distinguished from all others), Calah, Nineveh, 
and Arbela. The basin of the Lesser Zab was divided 
into the provinces of Kakzi, Arrapkha, and Akhizukhina ; * 
that of the Upper Tigris into those of Amidi, Tushkhan, 
and Gozan. Kirruri was bounded by Mazamua, and 
Mazamua by Arrapkha and Lake Urumiah. We hear of 
the three spheres of Nazibina (Nisibis), Tela, and Razappa 
in Mesopotamia, 2 the two former on the southern water 
sheds of the Masios, on the highways leading into Syria ; 

1 Akhizukhina is probably identical with Arzukhina = "the City of 
Zukhiiia," which is referred to as being situated in the basin of the Lesser 
Zab. 

2 Razappa is the biblical Rezeph (2 Kings xix. 12 ; Isa, xxxvii. 12) and 
the Resapha of Ptolemy, now Er-Rasafa, to the south of the Euphrates, on 
one of the routes leading to Palmyra. 



298 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

the latter to the south of the Euphrates, in the former 
kingdom of the Laqi. Most of them included in addition 
to the territory under the immediate control of the 
governor a number of vassal states, kingdoms, cities, 
and tribes, which enjoyed a certain measure of indepen 
dence, but were liable to pay tribute and render military 
service. Each new country was annexed, as soon as 
conquered, to the nearest province, or, if necessary, was 
converted into a distinct province by itself ; thus we find 
that Assur-nazir-pal, after laying hands on the upper 
valleys of the Radanu and the Turnat, rebuilt the ruined 
city of Atlila, re-named it Dur-Assur, placed a com 
mandant, cavalry, and eunuchs there, and established 
within it storehouses for the receipt of contributions from 
the neighbouring barbarians. He followed the same course 
on each occasion when the fortune of war brought him 
fresh subjects ; l and his successors, Shalmaneser III., 
Samsi-ramman IV., and Ramman-nirari did the same thing 
in Media, in Asia Minor, and in Northern Syria ; 2 Tiglath- 
pileser III. had only to follow their example and extend 
the application of their system to the countries which 
he gradually forced to submit to his rule. 3 In his case, 
however, certain elements came into play which forced 

1 We read of the appointment of a governor in Bit-Khalupi, at Tush- 
khan, in Nairi, and in the country of the Patina. 

2 The territory of the Bit-Adini was converted into a province by Shal 
maneser III. 

3 We find the formation of an Aramsean province, with Kar-Assur as its 
capital, mentioned in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. Provinces were also 
established in Media, in Unki, in the basin of the Orontes, and in Lebanon, 
from nineteen districts formerly belonging to Hamath, six maritime pro 
vinces in Northern Phoenicia and in Ccele-Syria, in Galilee, at Gaza. 



THE VASSAL STATES 301 

him to modify several of their methods, and to have 
recourse to others which they had seldom or never em 
ployed. The majority of the countries hitherto incor 
porated had been near enough to the capital whether 
it were Assur, Calah, or Nineveh to permit of strict 
watch heing kept for any sign of disaffection, and they 
could be promptly recalled to order if they attempted to 
throw off the yoke. These provinces were, moreover, of 
moderate area and sparsely populated : once drawn within 
the orbit of Assyria s attraction, they were unable to 
escape from its influence by their own unaided efforts ; 
on the contrary, they gradually lost their individuality, 
and ended by becoming merged in the body of the nation. 
The Arama3an tribes of the Khabur and the Balikh, the 
Cossa3ans of the Turnat, the marauding shepherds of the 
Gordya3an hills and the slopes of the Masios, gradually 
became assimilated to their conquerors after a more or 
less protracted resistance, till at length in spite of 
differences of origin, creed, and speech they became the 
best of Assyrians, every whit as devoted to the person 
of their king and as jealous of his honour as the aboriginal 
Assyrians themselves. A similar result could not be 
looked for in the case of the cities recently subdued. It 
was not to be expected that Babylon and Damascus to 
name but two of the most important would allow them 
selves to be influenced and to become reconciled to their 
lot by artifices which had been successful enough with the 
Medes and in the country of Tul-Abni. 

To take the case of Babylon first. It was no mere 
conglomeration of tribes, nor a state of minor importance, 



302 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AXD THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

but an actual empire, nearly as large as that of Assyria 
itself, and almost as solidly welded together. It extended 
from the Turnat and the mountains of Elam to the Arabian 
desert and the Nar-Marratum, and even though the 
Cossa3ans, Elamites, Kalda, Sumerians, Akkadians, and 
other remnants of ancient peoples who formed its some 
what motley population, had dwelt there for centuries 
in a state of chronic discord, they all agreed in theory, 
at any rate in recognising the common suzerainty of 
Babylon. Babylon was, moreover, by general acknowledg 
ment, the ancient metropolis to which Assyria owed its 
whole civilisation ; it was the holy city whose gods and 
whose laws had served as a prototype for the gods and 
laws of Assyria; from its temples and its archives the 
Assyrian scribes had drawn such knowledge as they 
had of the history of the ancient world, their religious 
doctrines and ceremonies, their methods of interpreting 
the omens and of forecasting the future in short, their 
whole literature, both sacred and profane. The King 
of Nineveh might conquer Babylon, might even enter 
within its gates in the hour of triumph, and, when once 
he had it at his mercy, might throw down its walls, 
demolish its palaces, destroy its ziggurdt, burn its houses, 
exterminate or carry off its inhabitants, and blot out 
its name from the list of nations; but so long as he 
recoiled from the sacrilege involved in such irreparable 
destruction, he was not merely powerless to reduce it to 
the level of an ordinary leading provincial town, such as 
Tela or Tushkhan, but he could not even deprive it in 
any way Q^ its rank as a capital, or hope to make it 






BABYLON S PRESTIGE 303 

anything less than the second city of his empire. As 

long as it remained in existence, it necessarily took 

precedence of all others, thanks to its extensive area, 

the beauty and antiquity of its buildings, and the number 

of its inhabitants. The pride of its nobles and priests, 

subdued for a moment by defeat, would almost instantly 

have reasserted itself, had the victor sought to lower 

the dignity of their city ; Babylon only consented to accept 

an alien master provided he bowed himself respectfully 

before its superiority, and was willing to forget that he 

was a stranger within its gates, and was ready to comply 

with its laws and masquerade as a Babylonian. Tiglath- 

pileser III. never dreamt, therefore, of treating the 

Babylonians as slaves, or of subordinating them to their 

Assyrian descendants, but left their liberties and territory 

alike unimpaired. He did not attempt to fuse into a 

single empire the two kingdoms which his ability had 

won for him ; he kept them separate, and was content 

to be monarch of both on similar terms. He divided 

himself, as it were, into two persons, one of whom reigned 

in Calah, while the other reigned in Karduniash, and 

his Chaldasan subjects took care to invest this dual rdle 

based on a fiction so soothing to their pride with 

every appearance of reality ; he received from them, 

together with all the titles of the Babylonian kings, that 

name of Pulu, which later on found its way into their 

chronicles, and which was so long a puzzle to historians, 

both ancient and modern. Experience amply proved 

that this was the only means by which it was possible 

to yoke temporarily together the two great powers of 



304 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

the Euphrates and the Tigris. Among the successors of 
Tiglath-pileser, the only sovereigns to rule over Babylon 
without considerable difficulty were those who followed 
the precedent set by him and were satisfied to divide their 
functions and reign as dual kings over a dual kingdom. 1 
This combination, while gratifying to the ambition of 
its rulers, was, perhaps, more a source of loss than of gain 
to Assyria itself. It is true that the power of Karduniash 
had decreased under the previous dynasty, but it had 
still been strong enough to hold back the Arama3ans of 
the Persian Gulf on one side, and the Elamite hordes 
on the other. It lay like a broad barrier between these 
barbarians and the cities of the Middle Tigris ; when an 
unusually vigorous attack compelled it to give way at 
some point, it appealed to Nineveh for help, and an 
Assyrian army, entering the country at the fords of the 
Zab, hastened to drive back the aggressors to the place 
from which they had set out. When, however, the kings 
of Assyria had become kings of Babylon as well, the 
situation was altered. Several branches of the Kalda 
had hitherto held possession of the city, and still possessed 
representatives and allies among the other tribes, especially 
among the Bit-Yakin, who believed themselves entitled 
to reassert their supremacy within in. The Elamite 
princes, on their part, accustomed to descend at will 
into the plains that lay between the Tigris and the 

This was so in the case of Tiglath-pileser III. s immediate successor, 
Shalmaneser V., of Esarhaddon, and of Assur-bani-pal ; Shalmaneser was 
known at Babylon by the name of Ululai, Assur-bani-pal by that of Kanda- 
lanu. 



TIGLATH-PILESER IN SYRIA 305 

Euphrates, and to enrich themselves by frequent raids, 
could not make up their minds to change the habits of 
centuries, until they had at least crossed swords with 
the new despot, and put his mettle to the test. The 
Ninevite King of Babylon was thus in duty bound to 
protect his subjects against the same enemies that had 
ceaselessly harassed his native-born predecessors, and 
as the unaided resources of Karduniash no longer enabled 
him to do so effectively, he was, naturally, obliged to fall 
back on the forces at his disposal as King of Assyria. 
Henceforward it was no longer the Babylonian army that 
protected Nineveh, but rather that of Nineveh which had 
to protect Babylon, and to encounter, almost every year, 
foes whom in former days it had met only at rare intervals, 
and then merely when it chose to intervene in their affairs. 
Where the Assyrian sovereigns had gained a kingdom for 
themselves and their posterity, Assyria itself found little 
else but fresh battle-fields and formidable adversaries, in the 
effort to overcome whom its energies were all but exhausted. 
In Syria and on the shores of the Mediterranean, 
Tiglath-pileser had nations of less stubborn vitality to 
deal with, nor was he bound by the traditions of a common 
past to show equal respect to their prejudices. Arpad, 
Unki, the Bekaa, Damascus, and Gilead were all con 
secutively swallowed up by Assyria, but, the work of 
absorption once completed, difficulties were encountered 
which now had to be met for the first time. The 
subordinate to whom he entrusted the task of governing 
these districts 1 had one or two Assyrian regiments assigned 

1 The governor was called Shalcnu = " he whom the king has established 
VOL. VII. X 



306 TIGLATII-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

him as his body-guard, 1 and these exercised the same 
ascendency over the natives as the Egyptian archers had 
done in days gone by : it was felt that they had the whole 
might of Assyria behind them, and the mere fact of their 
presence in the midst of the conquered country was, as 
a rule, sufficient to guarantee the safety of the Assyrian 
governor and ensure obedience to his commands. This 
body-guard was never a very numerous one, for the army 
would have melted away in the course of a campaign or 
two, had it been necessary, after each fresh conquest, to 
detach from it a sufficient force to guard against rebellion. 
It was strengthened, it is true, by auxiliaries enlisted on 
the spot, and the tributary chiefs included in the provincial 
district were expected to furnish a reasonable quota of 
men in case of need ; 2 but the loyalty of all these people 
was, at the best, somewhat doubtful, and in the event of 
their proving untrustworthy at a critical moment, the 
little band of Assyrian horse and foot would be left to 
deal with the revolt unaided until such time as the king 
could come and relieve them. The distance between the 



in his place," and pcTcJiu = " the pilot," "the manager," whence piltliatu = 
"a district," and lel-piMati = " the master of a district." It seems that 
the sJtaJcnu was of higher rank than the lel-pikfiati, and often had the latter 
under his command. 

1 Thus Assur-nazir-pal selected the horsemen and other soldiers who 
were to form the body-guard of the governor of Parzindu. 

2 In a despatch from Belibni to Assur-bani-pal we find Aramaeans from 
the Persian Gulf submitting to the authority of an Assyrian officer, and 
fighting in Elam side by side with his troops. Again, under Assur-bani-pal, 
an army sent to repress a revolt on the part of Kedar and the Nabatseans 
included contingents fi-om Ammon, Moab, and Edom, together with the 
Assyrian garrisons of the Hauran and Zobah. 



EGYPTIAN SECRET INTRIGUES 307 

banks of the Jordan or Abana and those of the Tigris 
was a long one, and in nearly every instance it would 
have been a question of months before help could arrive. 
Meanwhile, Egypt was at hand, jealous of her rival, who 
was thus encroaching on territory which had till lately 
been regarded as her exclusive sphere of influence, and 
vaguely apprehensive of the fate which might be in store 
for her if some Assyrian army, spurred by the lust of 
conquest, were to cross the desert and bear down upon 
the eastern frontiers of the Delta. Distrustful of her 
own powers, and unwilling to assume a directly offensive 
attitude, she did all she could to foment continual dis 
turbances among the Hebrews and Phoenicians, as well 
as in Philistia and Aram ; she carried on secret intrigues 
with the independent princes, and held out tempting hopes 
of speedy intervention before the eyes of their peoples ; 
her influence could readily be traced in every seditious 
movement. The handful of men assigned to the governors 
of the earlier provinces close to the capital would have 
been of little avail against perils of this kind. Though 
Tiglath-pileser added colony to colony in the distant 
regions annexed by him, he organised them on a different 
plan from that which had prevailed before his time. His 
predecessors had usually sent Assyrians to these colonies, 
and filled the villages vacated by them with families taken 
from the conquered region : a transfer of inhabitants was 
made, for instance, from Nalri or from Media into Assyria, 
and vice versd. By following this system, Tiglath-pileser 
would soon have scattered his whole people over the 
dependencies of his empire, and have found his hereditary 



308 TIGLATH PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

states peopled by a motley and incoherent collection of 
aliens ; he therefore left his Assyrians for the most part 
at home, and only effected exchanges between captives. 
In his earlier campaigns he brought back with him, on 
one occasion, 65,000 prisoners from the table-land of Iran, 
in order to distribute them over a province which he 
was organising on the banks of the Turnat and the Zab : 
he levied contributions of this kind without mercy from 
all the states that he conquered from year to year, and 
dispersed the captives thus obtained over the length and 
breadth of his empire ; he transplanted the Aramaeans 
of the Mesopotamian deserts, and the Kalda to the slopes 
of Mount Amanus or the banks of the Orontes, the 
Patinians and HamathaBans to Ulluba, the inhabitants of 
Damascus to Kir or to the borders of Elam, 1 and the 
Israelites to some place in Assyria. 3 He allowed them 
to take with them their wives and their children, their 
herds, their chattels, their gods, and even their money. 
Drafted into the towns and country districts in batches 
sufficiently numerous to be self-supporting, but yet not 
large enough to allow of their at once re-establishing 
themselves as a distinct nation in their new home, they 
seem to have formed, even in the midst of the most 
turbulent provinces, settlements of colonists who lived 
unaffected by any native influence or resentment. The 
aborigines hated them because of their religion, their 
customs, their clothing, and their language ; in their 
eyes they were mere interlopers, who occupied the property 
of relations or fellow-countrymen who had fallen in battle 

1 2 Kings xvi. 9. 2 2 Kings xv. 29. 



DEPORTATION OF THE CONQUERED RACES 309 

or had been spirited away to the other end of the world. 
And even when, after many years, the native owners of 
the soil had become familiarised with them, this mutual 
antipathy had struck such deep root in their minds that 
any understanding between the natives and the descendants 
of the immigrants was quite out of the question : what 
had been formerly a vast kingdom, occupied by a single 
homogeneous race, actuated by a common patriotic spirit, 
became for many a year a region capriciously subdivided 
and torn by the dissensions of a number of paltry 
antagonistic communities. The colonists, exposed to the 
same hatreds as the original Assyrian conquerors, soon 
forgot to look upon the latter as the oppressors of all, 
and, allowing their present grudge to efface the memory 
of past injuries, did not hestitate to make common cause 
with them. In time of peace, the governor did his best 
to protect them against molestation on the part of the 
natives, and in return for this they rallied round him 
whenever the latter threatened to get out of hand, and 
helped him to stifle the revolt or hold it in check until 
the arrival of reinforcements. Thanks to their help, the 
empire was consolidated and maintained without too many 
violent outbreaks in regions far removed from the capital 
and beyond the immediate reach of the sovereign. 1 

We possess very few details with regard to the adminis 
tration of these prefects. 2 The various functionaries, 

This was the history of the only one of those colonies whose fate is 
known to us that founded at Samaria by Sargon and his successors. 

The texts contain a certain number of names of offices, the precise 
nature of which it is not easy to ascertain, e.g. the Khazanu, the Labuttu, 



310 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

governors of towns, tax-collectors, heads of stations, and 
officers whose duty it was to patrol the roads and look 
after the safety of merchants, were, for the most part, 
selected from among natives who had thrown in their 
lot with Assyria, and probably few Assyrians were to be 
found outside the more turbulent cities and important 
fortresses. The kings and chiefs whose territory was 
attached to a given province, either took their instructions 
direct from Nineveh, or were sometimes placed under 
the control of a resident, or kipu, with some sort of escort 
at his back, who kept watch over their movements and 
reported them to the suzerain, and saw that the tribute 
was paid regularly, and that the military service provided 
for in the treaties was duly rendered. Governors and 
residents alike kept up a constant correspondence with 
the court, and such of their letters as have chanced to 
come down to us show what a minute account of even 
the most trifling occurrences was required of them by the 
central authorities. They were not only obliged to report 
any fluctuation in the temper or attitude of their subordi 
nates, or any intrigues that were being entered into across 
the frontier ; they had also to record the transfer of troops, 
the return of fugitives, the pursuit of deserters, any chance 
scuffle between soldiers and natives, as well as the punish 
ment inflicted on the rebellious, the appearance of a 
portent in the heavens, or omens noticed by the augurs. 
There were plenty of envious or officious tongues among 

and others. One of them, apparently, should be read Shuparshak, and identical 
with one of the titles mentioned in Ezra (v. 6, vi. 6) as being in existence 
during the Persian epoch. 



PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATORS 311 

their followers to report to headquarters the slightest failure 
of duty, and to draw attention to their negligence. More 
over, it seems certain that the object of thus compelling 
them to refer to the king at every turn, was not merely 
in order to keep him informed of all that took place 
in his dependencies, but also to lay bare the daily life 
of his prefects before his eyes. The latter were entrusted 
with the command of seasoned troops ; they had consider 
able sums of money passing through their hands, and 
were often obliged to take prompt decisions and enter 
into diplomatic or military transactions on their own 
responsibility; in short, most of them, at any rate, who 
were stationed at the furthest confines of the empire 
were really kings in all but title, insignia, and birth. 
There was always the danger lest some among them 
should be tempted to reassert, in their own interest, the 
independence of the countries under their rule, and seek 
to found a dynasty in their midst. The strict supervision 
maintained over these governors generally nipped any 
ambition of this kind in the bud ; in some cases, however, 
it created the very danger it was intended to prevent. 
If a governor who had been recalled to Nineveh or Calah 
in order to explain his conduct failed to clear himself 
completely, he at once fell into disgrace ; and disgrace 
in Assyria, as in other countries of the East, meant, nine 
times out of ten, confiscation of property, mutilation and 
lifelong imprisonment, or death in its most hideous form. 
He would, therefore, think twice before quitting his post, 
and if he had any reason to suppose himself suspected, 
or viewed with disfavour in high quarters, he would be 



312 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



in no hurry to obey a summons to the capital. A revolt 
was almost certain to be crushed without fail, and offered 
merely a very precarious chance of escape, but the governor 
was seldom likely to hesitate between almost certain 
condemnation and the vague possibility of a successful 
rising ; in such a case, therefore, he staked everything 

on a single throw. 
The system was 
a defective one, 
in that it exposed 
to strong tempta 
tion the very 
f unctionarie s 
whose loyalty was 
most essential to 
the proper work 
ing of the admin 
istration, but its 
dangers were out 
weighed by such 
important advan 
tages that we cannot but regard it as a very real im 
provement on the haphazard methods of the past. In 
the first place, it opened up a larger recruiting-ground 
for the army, and, in a measure, guaranteed it against that 
premature exhaustion which had already led more than 
once to an eclipse of the Assyrian power. It may be that 
the pick of these provincial troops were, preferably, told off 
for police duties, or for the defence of the districts in which 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Mansell. 




TIGLATH-PILESEK III. BESIEGING A KEBELLIOUS CITY. 1 



THE FINANCES OF THE KINGDOM 313 

they were levied, and that they seldom left it except to 
do battle in the adjacent territory ; l but, even with these 
limitations they were none the less of inestimable value, 
since they relieved the main army of Assyria from garrison 
duties in a hundred scattered localities, and allowed the 
king to concentrate it almost in its entirety about his own 
person, and to direct it en masse upon those points where 
he wished to strike a decisive blow. On the other hand, 
the finances of the kingdom were put on a more stable 
and systematic basis. For nearly the whole of the two 
previous centuries, during which Assyria had resumed its 
victorious career, the treasury had been filled to some 
extent by taxes in kind or in money, and by various dues 
claimed from the hereditary kingdom and its few immediate 
dependencies, but mainly by booty and by tribute levied 
after each campaign from the peoples who had been 
conquered or had voluntarily submitted to Assyrian rule. 
The result was a budget which fluctuated greatly, since 
all forays were not equally lucrative, and the new depend 
encies proved so refractory at the idea of perpetual tribute, 
that frequent expeditions were necessary in order to 
persuade them to pay their dues. We do not know how 
Tiglath-pileser III. organised the finances of his provinces, 
but certain facts recorded here and there in the texts 
show that he must have drawn very considerable amounts 
from them. We notice that twenty or thirty years after 
his time, Carchemish was assessed at a hundred talents, 
Arpad and Km at thirty each, Megiddo and Manzuatu at 

1 Thus, in the reign of Assur-bani-pal, we find the militia of the governor 



of Uruk marching to battle against the Gambulu. 



314 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

fifteen, though the purposes to which these sums were 
applied is not specified. On the other hand, we know 
the precise object to which the contributions of several 
other cities were assigned; as, for instance, so much for 
the maintenance of the throne in the palace, or for the 
divans of the ladies of the harem ; so much for linen 
garments, for dresses, and for veils; twenty talents from 




A HERD OF HORSES BROUGHT IX AS TRIBUTE. 1 

Nineveh for the armaments of the fleet, and ten from 
the same city for firewood. Certain provinces were 
expected to maintain the stud-farms, and their contribu 
tions of horses were specially valuable, now that cavalry 
played almost as important a part as infantry in military 
operations. The most highly prized animals came, 
perhaps, from Asia Minor ; the nations of Mount Taurus, 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the bronze bas-reliefs on the 
gates of Balawat. The breed here represented seems to have been common 
in Urartu, as well as in Cappadocia and Northern Syria. 



BUILDINGS OP TIGLATH-PILESER III. 



315 



who had supplied chargers to Israel and Egypt five 
centuries earlier, now furnished war-horses to the 
squadrons of Nineveh. The breed was small, but robust, 
inured to fatigue and hard usage, and in every way similar 
to that raised in these countries at the present day. In 
war, horses formed a very considerable proportion of the 




TYPICAL CA1TADOCIAX HOUSE. 1 



booty taken ; in time of peace, they were used as part of 
the payment of the yearly tribute, and a brisk trade in 
them was carried on with Mesopotamia. After the king had 
deducted from his receipts enough to provide amply for 
the wants of his family and court, the salaries of the 
various functionaries and officials, the pay and equipment 
of his army, the maintenance and construction of palaces 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. Alfred Boissier. 



316 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

and fortresses, he had still sufficient left over to form 
an enormous reserve fund on which he and his successors 
might draw in the event of their ordinary sources of 
income being depleted by a series of repeated reverses. 

Tiglath-pileser thus impressed upon Assyria the character 
by which it was known during the most splendid century 
of its history, and the organisation which he devised for 
it was so admirably adapted to the Oriental genius that it 
survived the fall of Nineveh, and served as a model for 
every empire-maker down to the close of the Macedonian 

era and even beyond it. The 
wealth of the country grew 
rapidly, owing to the influx 
of capital and of foreign 
population; in the intervals 
between their campaigns its 
rulers set to work to remove 

all traces of the ruins which had been allowed to accu 
mulate during the last forty years. The king had built 
himself a splendid palace at Calah, close to the monu 
ments of Assur-nazir-pal and Shalmaneser III., and its 
terraces and walls overhung the waters of the Tigris, 
The main entrance consisted of a Bit-khildni, one of 
those porticoes, flanked by towers and supported by 
columns or pillars, often found in Syrian towns, the 
fashion for which was now beginning to spread to Western 
Asia. 2 Those discovered at Zinjirli afford fine examples 

Reproduced by Faucher-Gudin, from the restoration published by 
Luschan. 

The precise nature of the edifices referred to in the inscriptions under 




A SYKIAN BIT-KHILAXI. 1 



THE BIT-KHILANI IN ASSYRIA 



317 



of the arrangements adopted in buildings of this kind ; 
the lower part of the walls was covered with bas-reliefs, 
figures of gods and men, soldiers mounted or on foot, 
victims and fantastic animal shapes ; the columns, where 
there were any, rested on the back of a sphinx or on a 
pair of griffins of a type which shows a curious mixture 




THE FOUNDATIONS OF A BIT- 
KHILAXI AT ZINJIRLI. 1 



of Egyptian and Semitic influences. The wood-work of 
the Ninevite Bit-khildni was of cedar from Mount Amanus, 
the door-frames and fittings were of various rare woods, 

the name of Bit-khilani is still a matter of controversy. It has been identified 
with the pillared hall, or audience-chamber, such as we find in Sargon s 
palace at Khorsabad, and with edifices or portions of edifices which varied 
according to the period, but which were ornamented with columns. It seems 
clear, however, that it was used of the whole series of chambers and buildings 
which formed the monumental gates of Assyrian palaces, something analogous 
to the Migdol of Ramses III. at Medinet-Habu, and more especially to the 
gates at Zinjirli. 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from a sketch published by Luschan. 



318 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

inlaid with ivory and metal. The entrance was guarded 
by the usual colossal figures, and the walls of the state 
reception-rooms were covered with slabs of alabaster; on 
these, in accordance with the usual custom, 1 were carved 
scenes from the royal wars, with explanatory inscriptions. 
The palace was subsequently dismantled, its pictures 
defaced and its inscriptions obliterated, 2 to mark the hatred 




BASE OF A COLUMN AT 
ZINJIRLI. 3 



felt by later generations towards the hero whom they were 
pleased to regard as a usurper ; we can only partially succeed 
in deciphering his annals by the help of the fragmentary 
.sentences which have escaped the fury of the destroyer. 
The cities and fortresses which he raised throughout the 
length and breadth of Assyria proper and its more recently 
acquired provinces have similarly disappeared ; we can 

1 The building of Tiglath-pileser s palace is described in the Nimroud 
Inscription. It stood near the centre of the platform of Nimroud. 

The materials were utilised by Esarhacldon, but it does not necessarily 
follow that the palace was dismantled by that monarch ; this was probably 
done by Sargon or by Sennacherib. 

3 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph published by Luschan. 



THE CITY OF DUR-BEL HARR AN-BELUZUR 319 

only conjecture that the nobles of his court, fired by his 
example, must have built and richly endowed more than 
one city on their hereditary estates, or in the territories 
under their rule. Bel-harran-beluzur, the marshal of the 
palace, who twice gave his name to years of the king s 
reign, viz. in 741 and 727 B.C., possessed, it would seem, 
an important fief a little to the north of Assur, near the 
banks of the Tharthar, on the site of the present Tel-Abta. 
The district was badly cultivated, and little better than a 
wilderness ; by express order of the celestial deities 
Marduk, Nabu, Shamash, Sin, and the two Ishtars he 
dag the foundations of a city which he called Dur-Bel- 
harran-beluzur. The description he gives of it affords 
conclusive evidence of the power of the great nobles, and 
shows how nearly they approached, by their wealth and 
hereditary privileges, to the kingly rank. He erected, we 
are told, a ziggurat on a raised terrace, in which he placed 
his gods in true royal fashion ; he assigned slaves, landed 
property, and a yearly income to their priests, in order 
that worship might be paid to them in perpetuity ; he 
granted sanctuary to all freemen who settled within the 
walls or in the environs, exemption from forced labour, 
and the right to tap a water-course and construct a canal. 
A decree of foundation was set up in the temple in memory 
of Bel-harran-beluzur, precisely as if he were a crowned 
king. It is a stele of common grey stone with a circular 
top. The dedicator stands erect against the background 
of the carving, bare-foot and bare-headed, his face clean 
shaven, dressed in a long robe embroidered in a chess 
board pattern, and with a tunic pleated in horizontal 



320 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



rows ; his right elbow is supported by the left hand, 
while the right is raised to a level with his eyes, his 
fist is clenched, and the thumb inserted between the first 

and second fingers 
in the customary 
gesture of adora 
tion. What the pro 
vost of the palace 
had done on his land, 
the other barons in 
all probability did 
on theirs ; most of 
the departments 
which had fallen 
away and languished 
during the disturb 
ances at the close 
of the previous 
dynasty, took a new 
lease of life under 
their protection. 
Private documents 
which increase in 
number as the cen 
tury draws to an end contracts, official reports, and 
letters of scribes, all give us the impression of a wealthy 
and industrous country, stirred by the most intense 
activity, and in the enjoyment of unexampled prosperity. 
The excellent administration of Tiglath-pileser and his 

1 Drawn by Boudier, from the photograph published by Father Scheih 




STELE OF BEL-HARRAX-BELUZUK. 1 



BEL-HARRAN-BELCJZUR 321 

nobles had paved the way for this sudden improvement, 
and had helped to develop it, and when Shalmaneser V. 
succeeded his father on the throne it continued unchecked. 1 
The new-comer made no changes in the system of govern 
ment which had been so ably inaugurated. He still kept 
Assyria separate from Karduniash ; his Babylonian subjects, 
faithful to ancient custom, soon devised a nickname for 
him, that of Ululai, as though seeking to persuade them 
selves that they had a king who belonged to them alone ; 
and it is under this name that their annalists have in 
scribed him next to Pulu in the list of their dynasties.- 
His reign was, on the whole, a calm and peaceful one ; 
the Kalda, the Medes, Urartu, and the races of Mount 
Taurus remained quiet, or, at any rate, such disorders 
as may have arisen among them were of too trifling a 
nature to be deemed worthy of notice in the records of 
the time. Syria alone was disturbed, and several of its 
independent states took advantage of the change of rulers 
to endeavour to shake off the authority of Assyria. 

It was, for a long time, an open question with the earlier Assyriologists 
whether or not Shalmaneser and Sargon were different names for one and 
the same monarch. As for monuments, we possess only one attributed to 
Shalmaneser, a weight iu the form of a lion, discovered by Layard at Nim- 
roud, in the north-west palace. The length of his reign, and the scanty 
details we possess concerning it, have been learnt from the Epomjm Canon 
and Pinches Babylonian Chronicle, arid also from the Hebrew texts (2 Kings 
xvii. 3-6 ; xviii. 9-12). 

The identity of Ululai and Shalrnaneser V., though still questioned by 
Oppert, has been proved by the comparison of Babylonian records, in some 
of which the names Pulu and Ululai occur in positions exactly correspond 
ing with those occupied, in others, by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser. The 
name Ululai was given to the king because he was born in the month of 
Ulul ; in Pinches list we find a gloss, "Dynasty of Tinu," which probably 

VOL. VII. Y 



322 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Egypt continued to give them secret encouragement 
in these tactics, though its own internal dissensions 
prevented it from offering any effective aid. The Tanite 
dynasty was in its death-throes. Psamuti, the last of 
its kings, exercised a dubious sovereignty over but a 
few of the nomes on the Arabian frontier. 1 His neigh 
bours the Saites were gradually gaining the upper hand 
in the Delta and in the fiefs of middle Egypt, at first 
under Tafnakhti, and then, after his death, under his son 
Bukunirinif, Bocchoris of the Greek historians. They 
held supremacy over several personages who, like them 
selves, claimed the title and rank of Pharaoh; amongst 
others, over a certain Eudamanu Miamun, son of Osorkon : 
their power did not, however, extend beyond Siut, near 
the former frontier of the Theban kingdom. The with 
drawal of Pionkhi- Miamun, and his subsequent death, 
had not disturbed the Ethiopian rule in the southern 
half of Egypt, though it somewhat altered its character. 
While an unknown Ethiopian king filled the place of 
the conquerer at Napata, another Ethiopian, named 
Kashta, made his way to the throne in Thebes. It is 
possible that he was a son of Pionkhi, and may have 
been placed in supreme power by his father when the 
latter reinstated the city in its place as capital. With 
all their partiality for real or supposed descendants of the 

indicates the Assyrian town in which Tiglath-pileser III. and his son were 
"born. 

1 He is the Psammous mentioned by Manetho. The cartouches 
attributed to him by Lepsius really belong to the Psammuthis of the XXIX th 
dynasty. It is possible that one of the marks found at Karnak indicating 
the level of the Nile belong to the reign of this monarch. 



. 



frAlk^iT ^sift 

llkiv-ii^^nrfci S 




tn 
o 

I 

Q. 



O 

o 

< 
111 



oc 

Q. 



Z 
O 

fl- 
CC 

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05 

O 

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2 



THE KUSHITE INVASION OP EGYPT 



323 




Kamesside dynasty, the Thebans were, before all things, 
proud of their former greatness, and eagerly hoped to 
regain it without delay. When, therefore, they accepted 
this Kushite king who, to their eyes, represented the 
only family possessed of a legitimate claim to the throne, 
it was mainly because they counted on him to restore them 
to their former place among the cities of Egypt. They must 
have been cruelly disappointed when he left them for the 
Sacred Mountain. His invasion, far 
from reviving their prosperity, merely 
served to ratify the suppression of that 
pontificate of Amon-Ka which was 
the last remaining evidence of their 
past splendour. All hope of re-estab 
lishing it had now to be abandoned, 
since the sovereign who had come to 
them from Napata was himself by birth 
and hereditary privilege the sole priest of Amon : in his 
absence the actual head of the Theban religion could lay 
claim only to an inferior office, and indeed, even then, 
the only reason for accepting a second prophet was that 
he might direct the worship of the temple at Karnak. 
The force of circumstances compelled the Ethiopians 
to countenance in the Thebaid what their Tanite or 
Bubastite predecessors had been obliged to tolerate at 
Hermopolis, Heracleopolis, Sais, and in many another 
lesser city ; they turned it into a feudatory kingdom, 
and gave it a ruler who, like Autti, half a century earlier, 
had the right to use the cartouches. Once installed, 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, after Prisse d Avennes. 



CONE BEAKIJSG THE NAME 
OF KASHTA AND OF HIS 
DAUGHTER AMENEKTAS. 1 



324 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

Kashta employed the usual methods to secure his seat 
on the throne, one of the first being a marriage alliance. 
The disappearance of the high priests had naturally in 
creased the importance of the princesses consecrated to 
the service of Amon. From henceforward they were 
the sole visible intermediaries between the god and his 
people, the privileged guardians of his body and his 
double, and competent to perpetuate the line of the 
solar kings. The Theban appanage constituted their dowry, 
and even if their sex prevented them from discharging 
all those civil, military, and religious duties required by 
their position, no one else had the right to do so on 
their behalf, unless he was expressly chosen by them 
for the purpose. When once married they deputed 
their husbands to act for them ; so long as they re 
mained either single or widows, some exalted personage, 
the prophet of Amon or Montu, the ruler of Thebes, 
or the administrator of the Said, managed their houses 
and fiefs for them with such show of authority that 
strangers were at times deceived, and took him for the 
reigning monarch of the country. 1 The Pharaohs had, 
therefore, a stronger incentive than ever to secure exclusive 
possession of these women, and if they could not get 
all of them safely housed in their harems, they en 
deavoured, at any rate, to reserve for themselves the 
chief among them, who by purity of descent or seniority 

1 Thus Harua, in the time of Amenertas, was prince and chief over the 
servants of the " Divine Worshipper." Mantumihait, in the time of 
Taharqa and of Tanuatamanu, was ruler of Thebes, and fourth prophet of 
Amon, and it is he who is described in the Assyrian monuments as King of 
Thebes. 



EGYPT IN THE TIME OF SHALMANESER V. 325 

in age had attained the grade of Divine Worshipper. 
Kashta married a certain Shapenuapit, daughter of 
Osorkon III. and a Theban pallacide ; l it is uncertain 
whether he eventually became king over Ethiopia and 
the Sudan or not. So far, we have no proof that he did, 
but it seems quite possible when w r e remember that one 
of his children, Shabaku (Sabaco), subsequently occupied 
the throne of Napata in addition to that of Thebes. Kashta 
does not appear to have possessed sufficient energy to 
prevent the Delta and its nomes from repudiating the 
Ethiopian supremacy. The Saites, under Tafnakhti or 
Bocchoris, soon got the upper hand, and it was to them 
that the Syrian vassals of Nineveh looked for aid, when 
death removed the conqueror who had trampled them so 
ruthlessly underfoot. Ever since the fall of Arpad, 
Hadrach, and Damascus, Shabarain, a town situated some 
where in the valley of the Orontes or of the Upper Litany, 2 
and hitherto but little known, had served as a rallying- 
point for the disaffected Aramaean tribes : on the accession 
of Shalrnaneser V. it ventured to rebel, probably in 727 B.C., 

1 It may be that, in. accordance with a custom which obtained during 
the generations that followed, and which possibly originated about this 
period, this daughter of Osorkon III. was only the adoptive mother of 
Amenertas. 

2 Shabarain was originally confounded with Samaria by the early com 
mentators on the Babylonian Chronicle. Halevy, very happily, referred it to 
the biblical Sepharvaim, a place always mentioned in connection with 
Hamath and Arpad (2 Kings xvii. 24, 31 ; xviii. 34 ; xix. 13 : cf. Isa. xxxvi. 
19; xxxvii. 13), and to the Sibruim of Ezekiel (xlvii. 16), called in the 
Septuagint Satnareirn. Its identification with Samaria has, since then, been 
generally rejected, and its connection with Sibraim admitted. Sibraim (or 
Sepharvaim, or Samareim) has been located at Shomeriyeh, to the east of the 
Bahr-Kades, and south of Hamath. 



326 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

but was overthrown and destroyed, its inhabitants being 
led away captive. This achievement proved, beyond the 
possibility of doubt, that in spite of their change of rulers 
the vengeance of the Assyrians was as keen and sharp 
as ever. Not one of the Syrian towns dared to stir, 
and the Phoenician seaports, though their loyalty had 
seemed, for a moment, doubtful, took care to avoid any 
action which might expose them to the terrors of a like 
severity. 1 The Israelites and Philistines, alone of the 
western peoples, could not resign themselves to a prudent 
policy ; after a short period of hesitation they drew the 
sword from its scabbard, and in 725 war broke out. 2 

1 The siege of Tyre, which the historian Menander, in a passage 
quoted by Josephus, places in the reign of Shalmaneser, ought really to be 
referred to the reign of Sennacherib, or the fragment of Menander must 
be divided into three parts dealing with three different Assyrian cam 
paigns against Tyre, under Tiglath-pileser, Sennacherib, and Esai haddon 
respectively. 

2 The war cannot have begun earlier, for the Epcmym Canon, in dealing 
with 726, has the words " in the country," thus proving that no expedition 
took place in that year ; in the case of the year 725, on the other hand, it 
refers to a campaign against some country whose name has disappeared. 
The passages in the Book of Kings (2 Kings xvii. 1-6, and xviii. 9-1-2) which 
deal with the close of the kingdom of Israel, have been interpreted in such 
a way as to give us two campaigns by Shalmaneser against Hoshea : (1) 
Hoshea having failed to pay the tribute imposed upon him by Tiglath-pileser, 
Shalmaneser made war upon him and compelled him to resume its payment 
(2 Kings xvii. 1-3) ; (2) Hoshea having intrigued with Egypt, and declined 
to pay tribute, Shalmaneser again took the field against him, made him 
prisoner, and besieged Samaria for three years (2 Kings xvii. 4-6 ; xviii. 
9-12). The first expedition must, in this case, have taken place in 727, 
while the second must have lasted from 725-722. Most modern historians 
believe that the Hebrew writer has ascribed to Shalmaneser the subjection 
of Hoshea which was really the act of Tiglath-pileser, as well as the final 
war against Israel. According to Winckler, the two portions of the narrative 



HOSHEA AND THE REVOLT OF SAMARIA 327 

Hoshea, who had ascended the throne with the consent 
of Tiglath-pileser, was unable to keep them quiet. The 
whole of Galilee and Gilead was now an Assyrian province, 
subject to the governor of Damascus ; Jerusalem, Moab, 
Ammon, and the Bedawiu had transferred their allegiance 
to Nineveh ; and Israel, with merely the central tribes of 
Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin left, was now barely 
equal in area and population to Judah. Their tribute 
weighed heavily on the Israelites ; passing armies had laid 
waste their fields, and townsmen, merchants, and nobles 
alike, deprived of their customary resources, fretted with 
impatience under the burdens and humiliations imposed 
on them by their defeat ; convinced of their helplessness, 
they again looked beyond their own borders for some 
nation or individual who should restore to them their lost 
prosperity. Amid the tottering fortunes of their neigh 
bours, Egypt alone stood erect, and it was, therefore, to 
Egypt that they turned their eyes. Negotiations were 
opened, not with Pharaoh himself, but with Shabi, one of 
the petty kings on the eastern frontier of the Delta, whose 
position made him better qualified than any other to deal 
with Syrian affairs. 1 Hannon of Gaza had by this time 
returned from exile, and it was, doubtless, owing to Shabi s 
support that he had been able to drive out the Assyrian 

must have been borrowed from two different versions of the final war, which 
the final editor inserted one after the other, heedless of the contradictions 
contained in them. 

1 This individual is called Sua, Seveh, and So in the Hebrew text (2 Kings 
xvii. 4), and the Septuagint gives the transliteration Sebek side by side with 
Seg6s. He is found again under the forms Shibahi, Shabi, Shabe, in Sargon s 
inscriptions. 



328 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

generals and recover his crown. 1 The Israelite aristocracy 
was led away by his example, but Shalmaneser hastened 
to the spot before the Egyptian bowmen had time to cross 
the isthmus. Hoshea begged for mercy, and was deported 
into Assyria and condemned to lifelong imprisonment. 2 
Though deserted by her king, Samaria did not despair ; 
she refused to open her gates, and, being strongly fortified, 
compelled the Assyrians to lay regular siege to the city. 
It would seem that at one moment, at the beginning of 
operations, when it was rumoured on all sides that Pharaoh 
would speedily intervene, Ahaz began to fear for his own 
personal safety, and seriously considered whether it would 
not be wiser to join forces with Israel or with Egypt. 3 
The rapid sequence of events, however, backed by the 
counsel of Isaiah, speedily recalled him to a more reason 
able view of the situation. The prophet showed him 
Samaria spread out before him like one of those wreaths of 
flowers which the guests at a banquet bind round their 

1 This seems to be the inference from Sargon s inscription, in which he 
is referred to as relying on the army of Shabi, the tartan of Egypt. 

2 2 Kings xvii. 4. 

3 The Second Book of Kings (xviii. 9, 10 ; cf. xvii. 6) places the beginning 
of the siege of Samaria in the seventh year of Hoshea ( = fourth year of 
Hezekiah), and the capture of the town in the ninth year of Hoshea ( = sixth 
year of Hezekiah) ; further on it adds that Sennacherib s campaign against 
Hezekiah took place in the fourteenth year of the latter s reign (2 Kings 
xviii. 13 ; cf. Isa. xxxvi. 1). Now, Sennacherib s campaign against Heze 
kiah took place (as will be shown later on, in vol. viii. Chapter I.) in 702 
B.C., and Samaria was captured in 722. The synchronisms in the Hebrew 
narrative are therefore fictitious, and rest on no real historical basis at any 
rate, in so far as the king who occupied the throne of Judah at the time of 
the fall of Samaria is concerned ; Ahaz was still alive at that date, and 
continued to reign till 716 or 715, or perhaps only till 720. 



THE SIEGE OF SAMARIA 329 

brows, and which gradually fade as their wearers drink 
deeper and deeper. " Woe to the crown of pride of the 
drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his 
glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of 
them that are overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord hath 
a mighty and strong one ; as a tempest of hail, a destroying 
storm, as a tempest of mighty waters overflowing, shall he 
cast down to the earth with violence. The crown of the 
pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under 
foot, and the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which 
is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first ripe fig 
before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it 
seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up." While 
the cruel fate of the perverse city was being thus accom 
plished, Jahveh Sabaoth was to be a crown of glory to those 
of His children who remained faithful to Him ; but Judah, 
far from submitting itself to His laws, betrayed Him even 
as Israel had done. Its prophets and priests were likewise 
distraught with drunkenness ; they staggered under the 
effects of their potations, and turned to scorn the true 
prophet sent to proclaim to them the will of Jehovah. 
" Whom," they stammered between their hiccups " whom 
will He teach knowledge ? and whom will He make to 
understand the message ? them that are weaned from the 
milk and drawn from the breasts ? For it is precept upon 
precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon 
line, here a little and there a little ! And sure enough 
it was by the mouth of a stammering people, by the lips 
of the Assyrians, that Jahveh was to speak to them. In 
vain did the prophet implore them : " This is the rest, give 



330 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AXD THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

ye rest to him that is weary; they did not listen to him, 
and now Jahveh turns their own gibes against them : 
c Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon 
line, line upon line, here a little and there a little," "that 
they may go and fall backward, and be broken and snared 
and taken." There was to be no hope of safety for 
Jerusalem unless it gave up all dependence on human 
counsels, and trusted solely to God for protection. 1 
Samaria was doomed ; this was the general belief, and men 
went about repeating it after Isaiah, each in his own 
words ; every one feared lest the disaster should spread 
to Judah also, and that Jahveh, having once determined 
to have done with the northern kingdom, would turn His 
wrath against that of the south as well. Micah the 
Morashtite, a prophet born among the ranks of the middle 
class, went up and down the land proclaiming misery to be 
the common lot of the two sister nations sprung from the 
loins of Jacob, as a punishment for their common errors 
and weaknesses. " The Lord cometh forth out of His 
place, and will come and tread upon the high places of the 
earth. And the mountains shall be molten under Him, 
and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as 
waters that are poured down a steep place. For the trans - 

1 Isa. xxviii. Giesebrecht has given it as his opinion that only verses 
1-6, 23-29 of the prophecy were delivered at this epoch : the remainder 
he believes to have been written during Sennacherib s campaign against 
Judah, and suggests that the prophet added on his previous oracle to them, 
thus diverting it from its original application. Others, such as Stade and 
Wellhausen, regard the opening verses as embodying a mere rhetorical 
figure. Jerusalem, they say, appeared to the prophet as though changed 
into Samaria, and it is this transformed city which he calls " the crown of 
pride of the drunkards of Ephraim." 



THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH 331 

gression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house 
of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob ? is it not 
Samaria ? and what are the high places of Judah ? are they 
not Jerusalem ? " The doom pronounced against Samaria 
was already being carried out, and soon the hapless city 
was to be no more than " an heap of the field, and as the 
plantings of a vineyard ; and I will pour down the stones 
thereof into the valley," saith the Lord, " and I will dis 
cover the foundations thereof. And all her graven images 
shall be beaten to pieces, and all her hires shall be burned 
with fire, and all her idols will I lay desolate ; for of the 
hire of an harlot hath she gathered them, and into the 
hire of an harlot shall they return." Yet, even while 
mourning over Samaria, the prophet cannot refrain from 
thinking of his own people, for the terrible blow which had 
fallen on Israel "is come even unto Judah; it reacheth 
tinto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem." Doubt 
less the Assyrian generals kept a watchful eye upon Ahaz 
during the whole time of the siege, from 724 to 722, and 
when once the first heat of enthusiasm had cooled, the 
presence of so formidable an army within striking distance 
must have greatly helped the king to restrain the ill- 
advised tendencies of some of his subjects. Samaria still 
held out when Shalmaneser died at Babylon in the month 
of Tebeth, 722. Whether he had no son of fit age to 
succeed him, or whether a revolution, similar to that which 
had helped to place Tiglath-pileser on the throne, broke out 
as soon as he had drawn his last breath, is not quite clear. 
At any rate, Sargon, an officer who had served under him, 

i MicaJi i 3-9. 



332 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

was proclaimed king on the 22nd day of Tebeth, and his 
election was approved by the whole of Assyria. After 
some days of hesitation, Babylon declined to recognise 
him, and took the oath of allegiance to a Kaldu named 
Marduk-abalidinna, or Merodach-baladan. While these 
events were taking place in the heart of the empire, 
Samaria succumbed ; perhaps to famine, but more probably 
to force. It was sacked and dismantled, and the bulk of 
its population, amounting to 27,280 souls, were carried 
away into Mesopotamia and distributed along the Balikh, 
the Khabur, the banks of the river of Gozan, and 
among the towns of the Median frontier. 1 Sargon 
made the whole territory into a province ; an Assyrian 
governor was installed in the palace of the kings of 
Israel, and soon the altars of the strange gods smoked 
triumphantly by the side of the altars of Jahveh (722 

B.C.). 2 

1 Sargon does not mention where he deported the Israelites to, but we learn 
this from the Second Book of Kings (xvii. 6 ; xviii. 11). There has been much 
controversy as to whether Samaria was taken by Shalmaneser, as the Hebrew 
chronicler seems to believe (2 Kings xvii. 3-6 ; xviii. 9, 10), or by Sargon, as 
the Assyrian scribes assure us. At first, several scholars suggested a solution 
of the difficulty by arguing that Shalmaneser and Sargon were one and the 
same person ; afterwards the theory took shape that Samaria was really 
captured in the reign of Shalmaneser, but by Sargon, who was in command 
of the besieging army at the time, and who transferred this achievement, of 
which he was naturally proud, to the beginning of his own reign. The 
simplest course seems to be to accept for the present the testimony of 
contemporary documents, and place the fall of Samaria at the beginning 
of the reign of Sargon, being the time indicated by Sargon in his 
inscriptions. 

2 2 Kings xvii. 24-41, a passage to which I shall have occasion to refer 
farther on in the present volume. The following is a list of the kings of 
Israel, after the division of the tribes : 



DESTRUCTION OF THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 333 

Thus fell Samaria, and with Samaria the kingdom of 
Israel, and with Israel the last of the states which had 
aspired, with some prospect of success, to rule over Syria. 
They had risen one after another during the four centuries 
in which the absence of the stranger had left them masters 
of their own fate the Hittites in the North, the Hebrews 
and the Philistines in the South, and the Aramaeans and 
Damascus in the centre ; each one of these races had 
enjoyed its years of glory and ambition in the course of 
which it had seemed to prevail over its rivals. Then those 
whose territory lay at the extremities began to feel the 
disadvantages of their isolated position, and after one or 
two victories gave up all hope of ever establishing a 
supremacy over the whole country. The Hittite sphere of 
influence never at any time extended much further south 
wards than the sources of the Orontes, while that of the 
Hebrews in their palmiest days cannot have gone beyond 
the vicinity of Hamath. And even progress thus far had 
cost both Hebrews and Hittites a struggle so exhausting 
that they could not long maintain it. No sooner did they 
relax their efforts, than those portions of Coele-Syria which 
they had annexed to their original territory, being too 



I. JEROBOAM I. 
II. NADAB. 

III. BAASHA. 

IV. ELAII. 

V. ZlMRI. 



VI. OMKI. 
VII. ARAB. 



XI. JEHOAHAZ. 



I XII. JEHOASH. 
_l I 

VIII. AHAZIAH. XIII. JEROBOAM II. 

IX. JORAM. XIV. ZECHARIAH. 
X. JEHU. XV. SHALU-M. 



XVI. MENAHEM. 

XVII. PSKAHIAH. 

XVIII. PEKAH. 
XIX. HOSHEA. 



[la this table father and son are shown by a perpendicular line. The king s 
name in italics signifies that he died a violent death. TR.] 



334 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

remote from the seat of power to feel its full attraction, 
gradually detached themselves and resumed their indepen 
dence, their temporary suzerains being too much exhausted 
by the intensity of their own exertions to retain hold over 




SARGOX OF ASSYRIA AND HIS VIZIER. 1 

them. Damascus, which lay almost in the centre, at an 
equal distance from the Euphrates and the "river of 
Egypt," could have desired no better position for grouping 
the rest of Syria round her. If any city had a chance of 
establishing a single kingdom, it was Damascus, and 
Damascus alone. But lulled to blissful slumbers in her 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch by Flandin. 



DESTRUCTION OP THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 335 

shady gardens, she did not awake to political life and to the 
desire of conquest until after all the rest, and at the very 
moment when Nineveh was beginning to recover from her 
early reverses. Both Ben-hadads had had a free hand 
given them during the half-century which followed, and 
they had taken advantage of this respite to reduce Ccele- 
Syria, the Lebanon, Arvadian Phoenicia, Hamath, and the 
Hebrews in fact, two -thirds of the whole country to 
subjection, and to organise that league of the twelve kings 
which reckoned Ahab of Israel among its leaders. This 
rudimentary kingdom had scarcely come into existence, 
and its members had not yet properly combined, when 
Shalmaneser III. arose and launched his bands of veterans 
against them ; it however successfully withstood the shock, 
and its stubborn resistance at the beginning of the struggle 
shows us what it might have done, had its founders been 
allowed time in which to weld together the various 
elements at their disposal. As it was, it was doomed to 
succumb not so much to the superiority of the enemy as 
to the insubordination of its vassals and its own internal 
discords. The league of the twelve kings did not survive 
Ben-hadad II. ; Hazael and his successors wore themselves 
out in repelling the attacks of the Assyrians and in 
repressing the revolts of Israel ; when Tiglath-pileser III. 
arrived on the scene, both princes and people, alike at 
Damascus and Samaria, were so spent that even their final 
alliance could not save them from defeat. Its lack of 
geographical unity and political combination had once 
more doomed Syria to the servitude of alien rule ; the 
Assyrians, with methodical procedure, first conquered and 



336 TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 

then made vassals of all those states against which they 
might have hurled their battalions in vain, had not fortune 
kept them divided instead of uniting them in a compact 
mass under the sway of a single ruler. From Carchemish 
to Arpad, from Hamath to Damascus and Samaria, their 
irresistible advance had led the Assyrians on towards 
Egypt, the only other power which still rivalled their 
prestige in the eyes of the world ; and now, at Gaza, on the 
frontier between Africa and Asia, as in days gone by on the 
banks of the Euphrates or the Balikh, these two powers 
waited face to face, hand on hilt, each ready to stake the 
empire of the Asiatic world on a single throw of the dice. 





SARGON OF ASSYRIA (722-705 B.C.). 



SARGON AS A WARRIOR AND AS A BUILDER. 

The origin of Sargon II. : the revolt of Babylon, Merodach-baladan and 
Elam The kingdom of Elam from the time of the first Babylonian empire ; the 
conquests of Shutruk-nakhunta I. ; the princes of Malamir The first encounter 
of Assyria and Elam, the battle of Durilu (721 B.C.) Eevolt of Syria, laubidi 
of Hamath and Eannon of Gaza Bocchoris and the XXIV th Egyptian 
dynasty ; the first encounter of Assyria with Egypt, the battle of Raphia 
(720 B.C.). 

Urartu and the coalition of the peoples of the north-east and north-west- 
Defeat ofZilcartu (719 B.C.), of the Tabal.(7l8), of the Khdti (717), of the 
Mannai, of the Medes and Ellipi (716), and of the Medes (715) Commencement 
of XXV th Ethiopian dynasty: Sabaco (716) The fall of Urzana and Eusas 
(714) and the formation of an Assyrian province in Cappadocia (713-710) 
The revolt and fall of Ashdod. 

The defeat of Merodach-baladan and of Shutruk-nakhunta II. : Sargon 
conquers Babylon (7 10-709 B.C.) Success of the Assyrians at Mushki : homage 
VOL. VII. Z 



( 338 ) 

of the Greeks of Cyprus (710) The buildings of Sargon : Dur-sharruldn The 
gates and walls of Dur-sliarrukln ; the city and its population The royal 
palace, its courts, the ziggurdt, the harem Revolt of Rummulth (709 B.C.) and 
of Ellipi (708 B.C.) Inauguration of Dur sharruJcin (706 B.C.) Murder of 
Sargon (705 B.C.) : his character. 














THE MOUXD OF KHORSABAD, BEFORE BOTTA. s EXCAVATIONS. 1 



CHAPTER III 

SARGON OF ASSYRIA (722-7O5 B.C.) 

Sargon as a warrior and as a builder. 



WHETHER Sargon was even re 
motely connected with the royal 
line, is a question which for the 
present must remain unanswered. He 
mentions in one of his inscriptions the 
three hundred princes who had pre 
ceded him in the government of 
Assyria, and three lines further on 
he refers to the kings his ancestors, 
but he never mentions his own father 
by name, and this omission seems 
to prove that he was not a direct 




1 Drawn by Boudier, after Flandin. The vignette is copied by Faucher- 
Gudin. 



340 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

descendant of Shalmaneser V., nor of Tiglath-pileser III. 
nor indeed of any of their immediate predecessors. It is, 
however, probable, if not certain, that he could claim 
some sort of kinship with them, though more or less 
remote. It was customary for the sovereigns of Nineveh 
to give their daughters in marriage to important officials 
or lords of their court, and owing to the constant con 
traction of such alliances through several centuries, there 
was hardly a noble family but had some royal blood 
in its veins ; and that of SaTgon was probably no ex 
ception to the rule. His genealogy was traced by the 
chroniclers, through several hundred generations of princes, 
to the semi-mythical heroes who had founded the city 
of Assur ; but as Assur-nazir-pal and his descendants 
had claimed Bel-kapkapi and Sulili as the founders of 
their race, the Sargonids chose a different tradition, and 
drew their descent from Belbani, son of Adasi. The 
cause and incidents of the revolution which raised Sargon 
to the throne are unknown, but we may surmise that 
the policy adopted with regard to Karduniash was a factor 
in the case. Tiglath-pileser had hardly entered Babylon 
before the fascination of the city, the charm of its 
associations, and the sacred character of the legends 
which hallowed it, seized upon his imagination ; he re 
turned to it twice in the space of two years to "take the 
hands of Bel," and Shalmaneser V. much preferred it to 
Calah or Nineveh as a place of residence. The Assyrians 
doubtless soon became jealous of the favour shown by 
their princes to their ancient enemy, and their discontent 
must have doubtless conduced to their decision to raise 



HIS ORIGIN AND THE REVOLT OF BABYLON 341 

a new monarch to the throne. The Babylonians, on the 
other hand, seern to have realised that the change in 
the dynasty presaged a disadvantageous alteration of 
government; for as soon as the news reached them a 
movement was set on foot and search made for a 
rival claimant to set up in opposition to Sargon. 1 
Of all the nations who had in turn occupied the 
plains of the Lower Euphrates and the marshes border 
ing on Arabia, the Kalda alone had retained their full 
vitality. They were constantly recruited by immigrants 
from their kinsfolk of the desert, and the continual infil 
tration of these semi-barbarous elements kept the race 
from becoming enervated by contact with the indigenous 
population, and more than compensated for the losses 
in their ranks occasioned by war. The invasion of 
Tiglath-pileser and the consequent deportations of prisoners 
had decimated the tribes of Bit-Shilani, Bit-Shaali, and 
Bit-Amuhkani, the principalities of the Kalda which lay 
nearest to Babylonian territory, and which had borne 
the brunt of attack in the preceding period ; but their 
weakness brought into notice a power better equipped 
for warfare, whose situation in their rear had as a rule 

1 The succession of events, as indicated in Pinches Babylonian Chronicle, 
seems indeed to imply that the. Babylonians waited to ascertain the dis 
position of the new king before they decided what line to adopt. In fact, 
Shalmaneser died in the month Tebeth, and Sargon ascended the throne at 
Assur in the same month, and it was only in the month Nisan that Mero- 
dach-baladan was proclaimed king. The three months intervening between 
the accession of Sargon and that of Merodach-baladan evidently represent a 
period of indecision, when it was not yet known if the king would follow the 
policy of his predecessors with regard to Babylon, or adopt a different attitude 
towards her. 



342 SARGOX II. OF ASSYRIA 

hitherto preserved it from contact with the Assyrians, 
namely, Blt-Yakin. The continual deposit of alluvial soil 
at the mouths of the rivers had greatly altered the coast 
line from the earliest historic times downwards. The 
ancient estuary was partly filled up, especially on the 
western side, where the Euphrates enters the Persian 
Gulf : a narrow barrier of sand and silt extended between 
the marshes of Arabia and Susiana, at the spot where 
the streams of fresh water met the tidal waters of the 
sea, and all that was left of the ancient gulf was a vast 
lagoon, or, as the dwellers on the banks called it, a kind 
of brackish river, Ndr marratwn. Bit-Yakin occupied the 
southern and western portions of this district, from the 
mouth of the Tigris to the edge of the desert. The 
aspect of the country was constantly changing, and pre 
sented no distinctive features ; it was a region difficult 
to attack and easy to defend; it consisted first of a 
spongy plain, saturated with water, with scattered artificial 
mounds on which stood the clustered huts of the villages ; 
between this plain and the shore stretched a labyrinth 
of fens and peat-bogs, irregularly divided by canals 
and channels freshly formed each year in flood-time, 
meres strewn with floating islets, immense reed-beds 
where the neighbouring peasants took refuge from 
attack, and into which no one would venture to 
penetrate without hiring some friendly native as a 
guide. In this fenland dwelt the Kalda in their low, 
small conical huts of reeds, somewhat resembling giant 
beehives, and in all respects similar to those which the 
Bedawin of Irak inhabit at the present day. Dur-Yakln, 



MERODACH-BALADAN OF BIT-YAKIN AND ELAM 343 

their capital, was probably situated on the borders of 
the gulf, near the Euphrates, in such a position as to 
command the mouths of the river. Merodach-baladau, 
who was King of Bit-Yak in at the time of Sargon s 
accession, had become subject to Assyria in 729 B.C., 




ASSYRIAN SOLDIEKS PURSUING KALDA REFUGEES IN A BED OF REEDS. 1 

and had paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser, but he was 
nevertheless the most powerful chieftain who had borne 
rule over the Chaldeans since the death of Ukinzir. 2 

4 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bas-relief reproduced in Layard. 

2 Dur-Yakin was situated on the shores of the Persian gulf, as is proved 
by a passage in the Bull Inscription, where it is stated that Sargon threw 
into the sea the corpses of the soldiers killed during the siege ; the neighbour 
hood of the Euphrates is implied in the text of the Inscription des Pastes, 
and the Annals, where the measures taken by Merodach-baladan to defend 



344 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



It was this prince whom the Babylonians chose to succeed 
Shalmaneser V. He presented himself before the city, 
was received with acclamation, and prepared without delay 
to repulse any hostilities on the part of the Assyrians. 




A REED-HUT OF THE BEDAWIN OF IRAK. 1 

He found a well-disposed ally in Elain. From very 
ancient times the masters of Susa had aspired to the 
possession of Mesopotamia or the suzerainty over it, and 



his capital are described. The name of Bit-Yakin, and probably also that of 
Dur-Yakin, have been preserved to us in the name of Aginis or Aginne, the 
name of a city mentioned by Strabo, and by the historians of Alexander. 
Its site is uncertain, but can be located near the present town of Kornah. 
1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph in Peters. 



THE MASTERS OF SUSA 345 

fortune had several times favoured their ambitious designs. 
On one occasion they had pressed forward their victorious 
arms as far as the Mediterranean, and from that time 
forward, though the theatre of their operations was more 
restricted, they had never renounced the right to interfere 
in Babylonian affairs, and indeed, not long previously, 
one of them had reigned for a period of seven years in 
Babylon in the interval between two dynasties. Our 
information with regard to the order of succession and the 
history of these energetic and warlike monarchs is as yet 
very scanty ; their names even are for the most part lost, and 
only approximate dates can be assigned to those of whom 
we catch glimpses from time to time. 1 Khumban-numena, 
the earliest of whom we have any record, exercised a 
doubtful authority, from Anshan to Susa, somewhere about 
the fourteenth century B.C., and built a temple to the god 
Kirisha in his capital, Liyan. 2 His son Undasgal carried 
on the works begun by his father, but that is all the 

1 These names are in the majority of cases found written on stamped and 
baked bricks. They were first compared with the names contained in the 
Annals of Sargon and his successors, and assimilated to those of the princes 
who were contemporary with Sennacherib and Assur-bani-pal ; then they 
were referred to the time of the great Elamite empire, and one of them was 
identified with that Kudur-Nakhunta who had pillaged Uruk 1635 years 
before Assur-bani-pal. Finally, they were brought down again to an inter 
mediate period, more precisely, to the fourteenth or thirteenth century B.C. 
This last date appears to be justified, at least as the highest permissible, by 
the mention of Durkurigalzu, in a text of Undasgal. 

2 Jensen was the first to recognise that Liyan was a place-name, and the 
inscriptions of Shilkhak-Inshusinak add that Liyan was the capital of the 
kingdom ; perhaps it was the name of a part of Susa. Khumban-numena 
has left us no monuments of his own, but he is mentioned on those of his 
son. 



340 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



information the inscriptions afford concerning him, and 
the mist of oblivion which for a moment lifted and 
allowed us to discern dimly the outlines of this sovereign, 
closes in again and hides everything from our view for 
the succeeding forty or fifty years. About the thirteenth 

century a gleam 
once more pierces 
the darkness, and 
a race of warlike 
and pious kings 
emerges into view 
Khalludush-In- 
shushinak, his 
son Shutruk-nak- 
hunta, the latter s 
two sons, Kutur- 
nakhunta and 
Shilkhak - Inshu- 
shinak, 1 and then 
perhaps a certain 




BKICK BEARING THE XAME OF THE SUSIAX KISG SHILKHAK- Jiif j r 

INSHUSHIXAK. 2 

The inscriptions 

on their bricks boast of their power, their piety, and their 
inexhaustible wealth. One after another they repaired and 
enlarged the temple built by Khurnban-numena at Liyan, 
erected sanctuaries and palaces at Susa, fortified their 

1 The order of succession of these princes is proved by the genealogies 
with which their bricks are covered. Jensen has shown that we ought to 
read Khalludush-Inshushinak and Shilkhak-Inshushinak, instead of the 
shorter forms Khalludush and Shilkhak read previously. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Marcel Dieulafoy, 



THE CONQUESTS OF SHUTRUK-NAKHUNTA I. 347 

royal citadel, and ruled over Habardip and the Cossaeans 
as well as over Anshan and Elam. They vigorously con 
tested the possession of the countries on the right bank 
of the Tigris with the Babylonians, and Shutruk-nakhunta 
even succeeded in conquering Babylon itself. He deprived 
Zamama-shumiddin, the last but one of the Cossa3an 
kings, of his sceptre and his life, placed his own son 
Kutur-nakhunta on the throne, and when the vanquished 
Babylonians set up Bel-nadinshumu as a rival sovereigD, 
he laid waste Karduniash with fire and sword. After the 
death of Bel-nadinshumu, the Pash princes continued 
to offer resistance, but at first without success. Shutruk- 
nakhunta had taken away from the temple of Esagilla 
the famous statue of Bel-Merodach, whose hands had 
to be taken by each newly elected king of Babylon, and 
had carried it off in his waggons to Elam, together with 
much spoil from the cities on the Euphrates. 1 Nebu 
chadrezzar I. brought the statue back to Babylon after 
many vicissitudes, and at the same time recovered most 
of his lost provinces, but he had to leave at Susa the 
bulk of the trophies which had been collected there in 
course of the successful wars. One of these represented 
the ancient hero Naram-sin standing, mace in hand, on 
the summit of a hill, while his soldiers forced their way 

1 The name of the king is destroyed on the Babylonian document, but 
the mention of Kutur-nakhunta as his son obliges us, till further information 
comes to light, to recognise in him the Shutruk-nakhunta of the bricks of 
Susa, who also had a son Kutur-nakhunta. This would confirm the restoration 
of Shutruk-nakhunta as the name of a sovereign who boasts, in a mutilated 
inscription, that he had pushed his victories as far as the Tigris, and even up 
to the Euphrates. 



348 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



up the slopes, driving before them the routed hosts of 
Susa. Shutruk-nakhunta left the figures and names un 
touched, but carved in one corner of the bas-relief a 

dedicatory inscription, trans 
forming this ancient proof of 
Babylonian victories over 
Elam into a trophy of Elamite 
victories over Babylon. His 
descendants would assuredly 
have brought Mesopotamia 
into lasting subjection, had 
not the feudal organisation 
of their empire tolerated the 
existence of contemporary 
local dynasties, the members 
of which often disputed the 
supreme authority with the 
rightful king. The dynasty 
which ruled Habardip J seems 
to have had its seat of 
government at Tarrishain the 

1111*66 




BAS-RELIEF OF NARAM-SIN, TRANSPORTED 

TO SUSA BY siiuTBUK-*AKHuxTA.3 hundred figures carved singly 
or in groups on the rocks of Kul-Firaun portray its 
princes and their ministers in every posture of adoration, 

1 The prince represented on. the bas-reliefs gives himself the title Apirra, 
the name of Apir, Apirti, or Habardip. 

Tarrisha is the name of a town, doubtless the capital of the fief of 
Malamir ; it is probably represented by the considerable ruins which Layarcl 
identified as the remains of the Sassanid city of Aidej. 

3 Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by M. de Morgan. 



THE PRINCES OF MALAMIR 



349 



but most of them have no accompanying inscription. One 
large bas-relief, however, forms an exception, and from its 
legend we learn the name of Khanni, son of Takhkhi- 
khikhutur. 1 This prince, even if possessed of no royal 




THE GKEAT KOCK BAS-RELIEF OF MALAillU.- 

protocol, was none the less a powerful and wealthy person 
age. His figure dominates the picture, the central space of 
which it completely fills ; 3 his expression is calm, but 

1 The name of Khanni has been explained by Sayce as tlie desirable, and 
that of his father, Takhkhi-khikhutur, as help this thy servant. 

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Babin and Houssay. 

3 Perrot and Chipiez, misled by the analogy of the Hittite bas-relief at 
Ibriz, took the largest figure for the image of a god. The inscription 



350 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

somewhat severe. His head is covered by a low cap, from 
which long locks escape and flow over his shoulders ; 
the hair on his face is symmetrically curled above the 
level of his mouth, and terminates in a pointed beard. 
The figure is clothed from head to foot in a stiff robe 
and mantle adorned with tufted fringes, and borders of 
embroidered rosettes ; a girdle at the waist completes 
the misleading resemblance to the gala-dress of a Ninevite 
monarch. The hands are crossed on the breast in an 
attitude of contemplation, wbile the prince gazes thought 
fully at a sacrifice which is being offered on his behalf. 
At the bottom of the picture stands a small altar, behind 
which a priest in a short tunic seems to be accomplish 
ing some ceremonial rite, while two men are cutting 
the throat of a ram. Higher up the heads of three rams 
lie beside their headless trunks, which are resting on the 
ground, feet in the air, while a servant brandishes a short 
sword with which he is about to decapitate the fourth 
beast. Above these, again, three musicians march in 
procession, one playing on a harp, another on a five- 
stringed lyre, and the third on a tambourine. An at 
tendant holding a bow, and the minister Shutsururazi, 
stand quietly waiting till the sacrifice is accomplished. 
The long text which runs across several of the figures 
is doubtless a prayer, and contains the names of peoples 
and princes mingled with those of deities. The memory 
of these provincial chiefs would be revived, and more 

engraved on the robe, U Khanni shnJc TattJii-ltWmtur , " I am Khanni, son 
of Takhkhi-khikhutur," leaves no doubt that the figure represents the prince 

, 

himself, and not a divinity. 



THE SEMI-NOMADIC TRIBES ON THE TIGRIS 351 

of their monuments discovered, if the mountains and 
inaccessible valleys of ancient Elam could be thoroughly 
explored: it is evident, from the small portion of their 
history which has been brought to light, that they must 
have been great sources of trouble to the dynasties 
which reigned in Susa, and that their revolts must often 
have jeopardised the safety of the empire, in spite of 
the assistance afforded by the Aramaeans from the tenth 
or eleventh centuries onwards. All the semi-nomadic 
tribes which densely peopled the banks of the Tigris, 
and whose advance towards the north had been temporarily 
favoured by the weakness of Assyria the Gambulu, the 
Pukudu, the Eutu, and the Itua had a natural tendency 
to join forces with Elam for the purpose of raiding the 
wealthy cities of Chaldaea, and this alliance, or subjec 
tion, as it might be more properly termed, always insured 
them against any reprisals on the part of their victims. The 
unknown king who dwelt at Susa in 745 B.C. committed 
the error of allowing Tiglath-pileser to crush these allies. 
Khumban-igash, who succeeded this misguided monarch 
in 742 B.C., 1 did not take up arms to defend Bit-Amuk- 
kani and the other states of the Kalda from 731 to 729, 
but experience must have taught him that he had made 
a mistake in remaining an unmoved spectator of their 
misfortunes ; for when Merodach-baladan, in quest of 

1 The date of his accession is furnished by the passage in Pinches 
Babylonian Chronicle, where it is stated that he ascended the throne of Elam 
in the fifth year of Nabonazir. The Assyrian and Babylonian scribes 
assimilated the Susian b to the in, and also suppressed the initial 
aspirate of the Elamite name, writing generally Umman-igash for Khum 



ban-igash. 



352 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

allies, applied to him, he unhesitatingly promised him his 
support. 1 

Assyria and Elam had hitherto seldom encountered one 
another on the field of battle. A wide barrier of semi- 
barbarous states had for a long time held them apart, and 
they would have had to cross the territory of the Baby 
lonians or the Cossseans before coming into contact with 
each other. Tiglath-pileser I., however, had come into 
conflict with the northern districts of Elam towards the 
end of the twelfth century B.C., and more recently the 
campaigns of Assur-nazir-pal, Shalmaneser III., and 
Bamman-nirari had frequently brought these sovereigns 
into contact with tribes under the influence of Susa ; but 
the wiklness and poverty of the country, and the difficulties 
it offered to the manosuvres of large armies, had always 
prevented the Assyrian generals from advancing far into 
its mountainous regions. The annexation of Aramaean 
territory beyond the Tigris, and the conquest of Babylon 
by Tiglath-pileser III., at length broke through the barrier 
and brought the two powers face to face at a point where 
they could come into conflict without being impeded by 
almost insurmountable natural obstacles, namely, in the 
plains of the Umliash and the united basins of the Lower 
Ulai and the Uknu. Ten years experience had probably 
sufficed to convince Khumban-igash of the dangers to 
which the neighbourhood of the Assyrians exposed his 
subjects. The vigilant watch which the new-comers kept 
over their frontier rendered raiding less easy ; and if one 

1 Sargon declares distinctly that Merodach-baladan had invoked the aid 
of Khumban-igash. 



THE FIRST ENCOUNTER OF ASSYRIA AND ELAM 353 

of the border chieftains were inclined to harry, as of old, 
an unlucky Babylonian or Cossa?an village, he ran the risk 
of an encounter with a well-armed force, or of being 
plundered in turn by way of reprisal. An irregular but 
abundant source of revenue was thus curtailed, without 
taking into consideration the wars to which such incidents 
must perforce lead sooner or later. Even unaided the 
Elamites considered themselves capable of repelling any 
attack ; allied with the Babylonians or the Kalda, they felt 
certain of victory in any circumstances. Sargon realised 
this fact almost as fully as did the Elamites themselves ; as 
soon, therefore, as his spies had forewarned him that an 
invasion was imminent, he resolved to take the initiative 
and crush his enemies singly before they succeeded in 
uniting their forces. Khumban-igash had advanced as far 
as the walls of Durilu, a stronghold which commanded 
the Umliash, and he there awaited the advent of his allies 
before laying siege to the town : it was, however, the 
Assyrian army which came to meet him and offered him 
battle. The conflict was a sanguinary one, as became an 
engagement between such valiant foes, and both sides 
claimed the victory. The Assyrians maintained their 
ground, forcing the Elamites to evacuate their positions, 
and tarried some weeks longer to chastise those of their 
Aramaean subjects who had made common cause with 
the enemy : they carried away the Tumuna, who had 
given up their sheikh into the hands of the emissaries 
of the Kalda, and transported the whole tribe, without 
Merodach-baladan making any attempt to save his allies, 
although his army had not as yet struck a single 

VOI. VII. 2 A 



35i SARGON II. OP ASSYRIA 

blow. 1 Having accomplished this act of vengeance, the 
Assyrians suspended operations and returned to Nineveh 
to repair their losses, probably intending to make a great 
effort to regain the whole of Babylonia in the ensuing year. 
Grave events which occurred elsewhere prevented them, 
however, from carrying this ambitious project into effect. 
The fame of their war against Elam had spread abroad in 
the Western provinces of the empire, and doubtless ex 
aggerated accounts circulated with regard to the battle of 
Durilu had roused the spirit of dissatisfaction in the west. 
Sargon had scarcely seated himself securely on a throne 
to which he was not the direct heir, when he was menaced 
by Elam and repudiated by Chald&a, and it remained to 
be seen whether his resources would prove equal to main 
taining the integrity of his empire, or whether the example 
set by Merodach-baladan would not speedily be imitated 
by all who groaned under the Assyrian yoke. Since the 
decline of Damascus and Arpad, Hamath had again taken 
a prominent place in Northern Syria ; prompt submission 
had saved this city from destruction in the time of 
Tiglath-pileser III., and it had since prospered under the 
foreign rule ; it was, therefore, on Hamath that all hopes 

1 The history of this first campaign against Merodach-baladan, which is 
found in a mutilated condition in the Annals of Sargon, exists nowhere else 
in a complete form, but the facts are very concisely referred to in the Pastes 
and in the Cijlinders. The general sequence of events is indicated by 
Pinches Babylonian Chronicle, but the author places them in 720 B.C., the 
second year of Merodach-baladan, contrary to the testimony of the Annals, 
and attributes the victory to the Elarnites in the battle of Durilu, in 
deference to Babylonian patriotism. The course of events after the battle 
of Durilu seems to prove clearly that the Assyrians remained masters of the 
field. 



THE SYRIAN REVOLT, IAUBIDI AND BOCCHORIS 355 

of deliverance still cherished by rulers and people now 
centred. A low-born fellow, a smith named laubidi, rose 
in rebellion against the prince of Hamath for being mean- 
spirited enough to pay tribute, proclaimed himself king, 
and in the space of a few months revived under his 
own leadership the coalition which Hadadezer and Eezon 
II. had formed in days gone by. Arpad and Blt-Agusi, 
Zimyra and Northern Phoenicia, Damascus and its 
dependencies, all expelled their Assyrian garrisons, and 
Samaria, though still suffering from its overthrow, 
summoned up courage to rid itself of its governor. 
Meanwhile, Hannon of Gaza, recently reinstated in his 
city by Egyptian support, was carrying on negotiations 
with a view to persuading Egypt to interfere in the 
affairs of Syria. The last of the Tanite Pharaohs, 
Psamuti, was just dead, and Bocchoris, who had long 
been undisputed master of the Delta, had now ventured 
to assume the diadem openly (722 B.C.), a usurpation 
which the Ethiopians, fully engaged in the Thebaid and 
on the Upper Nile, seemed to regard with equanimity. 
As soon as the petty kings and feudal lords had recog 
nised his suzerainty, Bocchoris listened favourably to the 
entreaties of Hannon, and promised to send an army to 
Gaza under the command of his general Shabe\ Sargon, 
threatened with the loss of the entire western half of his 
empire, desisted for a time from his designs on Babylon, 
Khumban-igash was wise enough to refrain from pro 
voking an enemy who left him in peace, and Merodach- 
baladan did not dare to enter the lists without the support 
of his confederate : the victory of Durilu, though it had 



356 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



not succeeded iu gaining a province for Nineveh, had 
at least secured the south-eastern frontier from attack, 
at all events for so long as it should please Sargon to 
remain at a distance. 




IAUBIDI OF IIAMATII 1JEINQ FLAYED ALIVE. 



The league formed by Hamath had not much power 
of cohesion. laubidi had assembled his forces and the 
contingents of his allies at the town of Qarqar as 
Hadadezer had done before : he was completely defeated, 
taken prisoner, and flayed alive. His kingdom was 
annexed to the Assyrian empire, Qarqar was burnt to 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch by Flandin. 



THE FIRST ENCOUNTER OF ASSYRIA AND EGYPT 357 

the ground, the fortifications of Hamath were demolished, 
and the city obliged to furnish a force of two hundred 
charioteers and six hundred horsemen, probably recruited 
from among the families of the upper classes, to serve 
as hostages as well as auxiliaries. Arpad, Zimyra, 
Damascus, Samaria, all succumbed without serious oppo 
sition, and the citizens who had been most seriously 
compromised in the revolt paid for their disaffection 
with their lives. This success confirmed the neighbour 
ing states of Tyre, Sidon, Judah, Ammon, and Moab 
in their allegiance, which had shown signs of wavering 
since the commencement of hostilities ; but Gaza re 
mained unsubdued, and caused the more uneasiness because 
it was perceived that behind her was arrayed all the majesty 
of the Pharaoh. The Egyptians, slow to bestir themselves, 
had not yet crossed the Isthmus when the Assyrians 
appeared beneath the walls of Gaza : Hannon, worsted 
in a preliminary skirmish, retreated on Eaphia, where 
Shabe, the Egyptian general, had at length arrived, and 
the decisive battle took place before this town. It was 
the first time that the archers and charioteers of the Nile 
valley had measured forces with the pikemen and cavalry of 
that of the Tigris ; the engagement was hotly contested, 
but the generals and soldiers of Bocchoris, fighting ac 
cording to antiquated methods of warfare, gave way 
before the onset of the Assyrian ranks, who were better 
equipped and better led. Shabe fled "like a shepherd 
whose sheep had been stolen," Hannon was taken prisoner 
and loaded with chains, and Raphia fell into the hands 
of the conqueror ; the inhabitants who survived the sack 



358 SARGOX II. OF ASSYRIA 

of their city were driven into captivity to the number of 
9033 men, with their flocks and household goods. The 
manifest superiority of Assyria was evident from the first 
encounter, but the contest had been so fierce and the 
result so doubtful that Sargon did not consider it pru 
dent to press his advantage. He judged rightly that 
these troops, whom he had not dispersed without con 
siderable effort, constituted merely an advanced guard. 
Egypt was not like the petty kingdoms of Syria or Asia 
Minor, which had but one army apiece, and could not 
risk more than one pitched battle. Though Shabe s force 
was routed, others would not fail to take its place and 
contend as fiercely for the possession of the country, 
and even if the Assyrians should succeed in dislodgiug 
them and curbing the power of Bocchoris, the fall of 
Sais or Memphis, far from putting an end to the war, 
would only raise fresh complications. Above Memphis 
stretched the valley of the Nile, bristling with fortresses, 
Khininsu, Oxyrhynchus, Herinopolis, Siut, Thinis, and 
Thebes, the famous city of Amon, enthroned on the banks 
of the river, whose very name still evoked in the minds 
of the Asiatics a vivid remembrance of all its triumphal 
glories. 1 Thebes itself formed merely one stage in the 
journey towards Syene, Ethiopia, Napata, and the un 
known regions of Africa which popular imagination filled 
with barbarous races or savage monsters, and however 

1 Thebes was at that time known among the Semites by its popular 
name of the city of Amon which the Hebrew writers transcribed as No- Amon 
(NaJium iii. 8) or N6 alone (Jer. xlvi. 25 ; Ezelc. xxx. 14, 15, 16), and the 
Assyrians by Ni, 



THE ADVANCE OF SARGON STAYED 359 

far an alien army might penetrate in a southerly direc 
tion, it would still meet with the language, customs, 
and divinities of Egypt an Egypt whose boundary seemed 
to recede as the invader advanced, and which was ever 
ready to oppose the enemy with fresh forces whenever 
its troops had suffered from his attacks. Sargon, having 
reached Raphia, halted on the very threshold of the 
unexplored realm whose portals stood ajar ready to admit 
him : the same vague disquietude which had checked 
the conquering career of the Pharaohs on the borders 
of Asia now stayed his advance, and bade him turn back as 
he was on the point of entering Africa. He had re 
pulsed the threatened invasion, and as a result of his victory 
the princes and towns which had invoked the aid of the 
foreigner lay at his mercy ; he proceeded, therefore, to 
reorganise the provinces of Philistia and Israel, and re 
ceived the homage .of Judah and her dependencies. Ahaz, 
while all the neighbouring states were in revolt, had not 
wavered in his allegiance ; the pacific counsels of Isaiah 
had once more prevailed over the influence of the party 
which looked for safety in an alliance with Egypt. 1 

1 Sargon probably alludes to homage received at this time, when he 
styles himself " the subduer of far-off Judah." It is not certain that Ahaz 
was still King of Judah ; it was for a long time admitted that Hezekiah was 
already king when these events took place, in accordance with 2 Kings xviii. 
9, 10, where it is stated that Samaria was destroyed in the sixth year of 
Hezekiah. . I consider, in agreement with several historians, that the date 
of Sennacherib s invasion of Judah must have remained more firmly fixed in 
the minds of the Jewish historians than that of the taking of Samaria, and 
as 2 Kings xviii. 13 places this invasion in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, 
which corresponds, as we shall see, to the third year of Sennacherib, or 702 
B.C., it seems better to place the accession of Hezekiah about 715, and 



300 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

The whole country from the Orontes to the mountains of 
Seir and the river of Egypt was again reduced to 
obedience, and set itself by peaceful labours to repair 
the misfortunes which had befallen it during the previous 
quarter of a century. Sargon returned to his capital, but 
fate did not yet allow him to renew his projects against 
Babylon. Rarely did an insurrection break out in any 
part of the country on the accession of a new king at 
Nineveh without awaking echoes in the distant provinces 
of the empire. The report of a revolt in Chaldsea roused 
a slumbering dissatisfaction among the Syrians, and finally 
led them into open rebellion : the episodes of the Syrian 
campaign, narrated in Armenia or on the slopes of the 
Taurus with the thousand embellishments suggested by 
the rancour of the narrators, excited the minds of the 
inhabitants and soon rendered an outbreak inevitable. 
The danger would have been serious if the suppressed 
hatred of all had found vent at the same moment, and 
if insurrections in five or six different parts of his empire 
had to be faced by the sovereign simultaneously ; but 
as a rule these local wars broke out without any con 
centrated plan, and in localities too remote from each 
other to permit of any possible co-operation between 
the assailants ; each chief, before attempting to assert 
his independence, seemed to wait until the Assyrians 
had had ample time to crush the rebel who first took 
the field, having done which they could turn the whole 
of their forces against the latest foe. Thus laubidi did 

prolong the reign of Ahaz till after the campaign of Sargon against Hannon 
of Gaza. 



ACCESSION OF SARGON 361 

not risk a campaign till the fall of Elam and Karduniash 
had been already decided on the field of Durilu ; in the 
same way, the nations of the North and East refrained 
from entering the lists till they had allowed Sargon 
time to destroy the league of Hamath and repel the 
attack of Pharaoh. 

They were secretly incited to rebellion by a power 
which played nearly the same part with regard to them 
that Egypt had played in Southern Syria. Urartu had 
received a serious rebuff in 735 B.C., and the burning of 
Dhuspas had put an end to its ascendency, but the victory 
had been effected at the cost of so much bloodshed that 
Tiglath-pileser was not inclined to risk losing the advantage 
already gained by pushing it too far : he withdrew, there 
fore, without concluding a treaty, and did not return, being 
convinced that no further hostilities would be attempted 
till the vanquished enemy had recovered from his defeat. 
He was justified in his anticipations, for Sharduris died 
about 730, without having again taken up arms, and his 
son Eusas I. had left Shalmaneser V. unmolested : l but 
the accession of Sargon and the revolts which harassed him 
had awakened in Rusas the warlike instincts of his race, 
and the moment appeared advantageous for abandoning his 
policy of inactivity. The remembrance of the successful 
exploits of Menuas and Argistis still lived in the minds of 

1 The name of this king is usually written Ursa in the Assyrian inscrip 
tions, but the Annals of Sargon give in each case the form Rusa, in 
accordance with which Sayce had already identified the Assyrian form Ursa 
or Rusa with the form Rusas found on some Urartian monuments. Belck 
and Lehmann have discovered several monuments of this Rusas I., son of 
Sharduris. 



362 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

his people, and more than one of his generals had entered 
upon their military careers at a time when, from Arpad and 
Carchemish to the country of the Medes, quite a third of 
the territory now annexed to Assyria had been subject to 
the king of Urartu; Kusas, therefore, doubtless placed 
before himself the possibility of reconquering the lost 
provinces, and even winning, by a stroke of fortune, more 
than had been by a stroke of fortune wrested from his 
father. He began by intriguing with such princes as were 
weary of the Assyrian rule, among the Mannai, in 
Zikartu, 1 among the Tabal, and even among the Khati. 
Iranzu, who was at that time reigning over the Mannai, 
refused to listen to the suggestions of his neighbour, but 
two of his towns, Shuandakhul and Durdukka, deserted him 
in 719 B.C., and ranged themselves under Mitatti, chief of 
the Zikartu, while about the same time the strongholds of 
Sukkia, Bala, and Abitikna, which were on the borders of 
Urartu, broke the ties which had long bound them to 
Assyria, and concluded a treaty of alliance with Eusas. 
Sargon was not deceived as to the meaning of these events, 
and at once realised that this movement was not one of 
those local agitations which broke out at intervals in one 
or other of his provinces. His officers and spies must have 
kept him informed of the machinations of Kusas and of the 
revolutions which the migrations of the last thirty years 
had provoked among the peoples of the Iranian table-land. 
A new race had arisen in their rear, that of the Cimmerians 
and Scythians, which, issuing in irresistible waves from 

1 Zikruti, Zikirtu, Zikartu, may probably be identified with the Sagartians 
of Herodotus. 



COALITION OF THE NATIONS OF THE NORTH 363 

the gorges of the Caucasus, threatened to overwhelm the 
whole ancient world of the East. The stream, after a 
moment s vacillation, took a westerly direction, and flooded 
Asia Minor from one end to the other. Some tribes, 
however, which had detached themselves from the main 
movement sought an outlet towards the south-east, on to 
the rich plains of the Araxes and the country around Lake 
Urumiah. The native races, pressed in the rear by these 
barbarians, and hemmed in on either side and in front by 
"Urartu and Assyria, were forced into closer proximity, and, 
conscious of their individual weakness, had begun to form 
themselves into three distinct groups, varying considerably 
in compactness, the Medes in the south, Misianda in the 
north, with Zikartu between them. Zikartu was at that 
time the best organised of these nascent states, and its 
king, Mitatti, was not deficient either in military talent or 
political sagacity. The people over whom he ruled were, 
moreover, impregnated with the civilisation of Mesopo 
tamia, and by constantly meeting the Assyrians in battle 
they had adopted the general principles of their equipment, 
organisation, and military tactics. The vigour of his 
soldiers and the warlike ardour which inspired them 
rendered his armies formidable even to leaders as 
experienced, and warriors as hardened, as the officers and 
soldiers of Nineveh. Mitatti had strongly garrisoned the 
two rebel cities, and trusted that if the Assyrians were 
unable to recapture them without delay, other towns would 
not be long in following their example ; Iranzu would, no 
doubt, be expelled, his place would be taken by a hostile 
chief, and the Mannai, joining hands with Urartu on the 



364 



SARGOX II. OF ASSYRIA 



right and Zikartu on the left, would, with these two states, 
form a compact coalition, whose combined forces would 
menace the northern frontier of the empire from the Zagros 
to the Taurus. Sargon, putting all the available Assyrian 
forces into the field, hurled them against the rebels, and 
this display of power had the desired effect upon the 
neighbouring kingdoms : Rusas and Mitatti did not dare to 




TAKING OF A CASTLE IX ZIKAKTU 

interfere, the two cities were taken by assault, burnt and 
razed to the ground, and the inhabitants of the surrounding 
districts of Sukkia, Bala, and Abitikna were driven into 
exile among the Khati. The next year, however, the war 
thus checked on the Iranian table-land broke out in the 
north-west, in the mountains of Cilicia. A Tabal chief, 
Kiakku of Shinukhta, refused to pay his tribute (718). 
Sargon seized him and destroyed his city ; his family and 
adherents, 7500 persons in all, were carried away captives 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the facsimile by Flandin. 



THE FALL OF PISIRIS 365 

to Assyria, and his principality was given to a rival chief, 
Matti of Atuna, on a promise from the latter of an increased 
amount of tribute. 1 In 717 B.C. more serious dangers openly 
declared themselves. The Khati had not forgotten that 
they had once been the allies of Urartu, and that their king, 
Pisiris, together with Matilu of Agusi, had fought for 
Sharduris against Tiglath-pileser III. Pisiris conspired with 
Mita, chief of the Mushki, and proclaimed his indepen 
dence ; bat vengeance swiftly and surely overtook him. 
He succumbed before his accomplice had time to come 
to his assistance, and was sent to join Kiakku and his 
adherents in prison, while the districts which he had ruled 
were incorporated into Assyrian territory, and Carchemish 
became the seat of an Assyrian prefect who ranked among 
the limmi from whom successive years took their names. 
The fall of Pisiris made no impression on his con 
temporaries. They had witnessed the collapse of so many 
great powers Elam, Urartu, Egypt that the misfortunes 
of so insignificant a personage awakened but little interest ; 
and yet with him foundered one of the most glorious 
wrecks of the ancient world. For more than a century the 
Khati had been the dominant power in North-western 
Asia, and had successfully withstood the power of Thebes ; 
crushed by the Peoples of the Sea, hemmed in and 
encroached upon by the rising wave of Aramaean invasion, 
they had yet disputed their territory step by step with the 

1 The name of Atuna is a variant of the name Tuna, which is found in 
the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III., and Tuna recalls the name of the old 
city of Tyana, or that of Tynna or Tunna, near Tyana, in the Taurus. Shin- 
ukhta, not far from Atuna, must be the capital of a district situated on the 
Karmalas or the Saros, on the borders of Cilicia or Cataonia. 



366 S ARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

Assyrian generals, and the area over which they spread can 
be traced by the monuments and inscriptions scattered over 
Cilicia, Lycaonia, Cappadocia, and Northern Syria as far as 
the basins of the Orontes and the Litany. So lasting had 
proved their influence on all around them, and so fresh was 
the memory of their greatness, that it would have seemed 
but natural that their vitality should survive this last blow, 
and that they should enjoy a prosperous future which 
should vie with their past. But events proved that their 
national life was dead, and that no recuperative power 
remained : as soon as Sargon had overthrown their last 
prince, their tribes became merged in the general body of 
Ararnseans, and their very name ere long vanished from the 
pages of history. 

Up to this time Eusas had not directly interfered in 
these quarrels between the suzerain and his vassals : he 
may have incited the latter to revolt, but he had avoided 
compromising himself, and was waiting till the Maunai 
had decided to make common cause with him before 
showing his hand openly. Ever since the skirmish of the 
year 719, Mitatti had actively striven to tempt the Mannai 
from their allegiance, but his intrigues had hitherto proved 
of no avail against the staunch fidelity first of Irauzu and 
then of Aza, who had succeeded the latter about 718. At 
the beginning of the year 716 Mitatti was more successful ; 
the Mannai, seduced at length by his promises and those 
of Eusas, assembled on Mount Uaush, murdered their king, 
and leaving his corpse unburied, hastened to place them 
selves under the command of Bagadatti, regent of Umildish. 
Sargon hurried to the spot, seized Bagadatti, and had him 



DEFEAT OF THE MANNAI AND OF ELLIPI 367 

flayed alive on Mount Uaush, which had just witnessed the 
murder of Aza, and exposed the mass of bleeding flesh 
before the gaze of the people to demonstrate the fate 
reserved for his enemies. But though he had acted 
speedily he was too late, and the fate of their chief, far 
from discouraging his subjects, confirmed them in their 
rebellion. They had placed upon the throne Ullusunu, 
the brother of Aza, and this prince had immediately con 
cluded an alliance with Eusas, Mitatti, and the people of 
Andia ; his example was soon followed by other Eastern 
chiefs, Assurli of Karallu and Itti of Allabria, whereupon, 
as the spirit of revolt spread from one to another, most of 
the districts lately laid under tribute by Tiglath-pileser 
took up arms Niksarna, Bitsagbati, Bitkhirmami, Kilam- 
bati, Armangu, and even the parts around Kharkhar, and 
Ellipi, with its reigning sovereign Dalta. The general 
insurrection dreaded by Sargon, and which Eusas had 
for five years been fomenting, had, despite all the efforts 
of the Assyrian government, at last broken out, and the 
whole frontier was ablaze from the borders of Elam to 
those of the Mushku. Sargon turned his attention to 
where danger was most urgent ; he made a descent on 
the territory of the Mannai, and laid it waste " as a 
swarm of locusts might have done; he burnt their 
capital, Izirtu, demolished the fortifications of Zibia and 
Armaid, and took Ullusunu captive, but, instead of con 
demning him to death, he restored to him his liberty 
and his crown on condition of his paying a regular tribute. 
This act of clemency, in contrast with the pitiless severity 
shown at the beginning of the insurrection, instantly 



368 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

produced the good effects he expected : the Mannai laid 
down their arms and swore allegiance to the conqueror, 
and their defection broke up the coalition. Sargon did 
not give the revolted provinces time to recover from the 
dismay into which his first victories had thrown them, 
but marched rapidly to the south, and crushed them 
severally ; commencing with Andia, where he took 4200 
prisoners with their cattle, he next attacked Zikartu, 
whose king, Mitatti, took refuge in the mountains and 
thus escaped death at the hands of the executioner. 
Assurli of Karalla had a similar fate to Bagadatti, and 
was flayed alive. Itti of Allabria, with half of his subjects, 
was carried away to Hamath. The towns of Niksama and 
Shurgadia were annexed to the province of Parsuash. The 
town of Kishisim was reduced to ashes, and its king, 
Belsharuzur, together with the treasures of his palace, 
was carried away to Nineveh. Kharkhar succumbed after 
a short siege, received a new population, and was hence 
forward known as Kar-Sharrukin. ; Dalta was restored to 
favour, and retained his dominion intact. Never had so 
great a danger been so ably or so courageously averted. 
It was not without good reason that, after his victory 
over the Mannai, Sargon, instead of attacking Eusas, the 
most obstinate of his foes, turned against the Medes. 
Ellipi, Parsuash, and Kharkhar, comprising half the 
countries which had joined in the insurrection, were on 
the borders of Elam or had frequent relations with that 
state, and it is impossible to conjecture what turn affairs 
might have taken had Elam been induced to join their 
league, and had the Elamite armies, in conjunction with 



SARGON PROMPTLY RE-ESTABLISHES ORDER 



369 



those of Merodach-baladan, unexpectedly fallen upon the 
Assyrian rear by the valleys of the Tigris or the Turnat. 
Had the Elamites, however, entertained a desire to mingle 
in the fray, the promptness with which Sargon had re- 




TAKING OF TIIE CITY OF KISIIISI.M BY THE ASSYRIANS. 1 

established order must have given them cause to reflect 
and induced them to maintain their neutrality. The year 
which had opened so inauspiciously thus ended in victory, 
though the situation was still fraught with danger. The 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the facsimile by Flandin. The figures 
resembling stags horns, which crown three of the upper towers, are tongues 
of flame, as was indicated by the red colouring which still remained on them 
when the bas-relief was discovered. 

VOL. VII. 2 B 



370 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

agitation which had originated in the east and north 
east in 716 reached the north-west in 715, and spread as 
far as the borders of Southern Syria. Eusas had employed 
the winter in secret negotiations with the Mannai, and 
had won over one of their principal chiefs, a certain 
Dayaukku, whose name seems to be identical with that 
which the Greeks transliterated as Deiokes. 1 As soon as 
spring had returned he entered the territory of Ullusunu, 
and occupied twenty-two strongholds, which were probably 
betrayed into his hands by Dayaukku. While this was 
taking place Mita of Mushki invaded Cilicia, and the 
Arab tribes of the Idumsean desert the Thamudites, the 
Ibadites, the Marsimanu, and Khayapa were emboldened 
to carry their marauding expeditions into Assyrian territory. 
The Assyrian monarch was thus called on to conduct three 
distinct wars simultaneously in three different directions ; 
he was, moreover, surrounded by wavering subjects whom 
terror alone held to their allegiance, and whom the 
slightest imprudence or the least reverse might turn into 
open foes. 

Sargon resolutely faced the enemy at all three points of 
attack. As in the previous year, he reserved for himself 
the position where danger was most threatening, directing 
the operations against the Mannai. He captured one 
by one the twenty-two strongholds of Ullusunu which 
Rusas had seized, and laying hands on Dayaukku, sent 
him and his family into exile to Hamath. This display 
of energy determined lanzu of Nairi to receive the 

1 The identity of the name Dayaukku with that of Deiokes is admitted 
by all historians. 



THE DEFEAT OP THE MEDES 3.71 

Assyrian monarch courteously within the royal residence 
of Khubushkia and to supply him with horses, cattle, 
sheep, and goats in token of homage. Proceeding from 
thence in an oblique direction, Sargon reached Andia 
and took prisoner its king Tilusinas. Having by this 
exploit reduced the province of Mannai to order, he 
restored the twenty-two towns to Ullusunu, and halting 
some days in Izirtn, erected there a statue of himself, 
according to his custom, as a visible witness of Assyrian 
supremacy, having done which, he retraced his steps to 
the south-east. The province of Kharkhar, which had 
been reduced to subjection only a few months previously, 
was already in open revolt, and the district of Kar- 
Sharrukin alone remained faithful to its governor : Sargon 
had to reconquer it completely, town by town, imposing 
on the four citadels of Kishislu, Kindau, Bit-Bagaia, and 
Zaria the new names of Kar-Nabu, Kar-Sin, Kar-Kamruanu, 
and Kar-Ishtar, besides increasing the fortifications of 
Kar-Sharrukin. The Medes once more acknowledged his 
suzerainty, and twenty-two of their chiefs came to tender 
the oath of allegiance at his feet ; two or three districts 
which remained insubordinate were given up to pillage 
as far as Bit-Khamban, and the inhabitants of Kimirra 
were sent into captivity. The eastern campaign was 
thus brought to a most successful issue, fortune, mean 
while, having also favoured the Assyrian arms in the 
other menaced quarters. Mita, after pushing forward at 
one point as far as the Mediterranean, had been driven 
back into the mountains by the prefect of Kui, and the 
Bedawin of the south had sustained a serious reverse. 



372 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



These latter were mere barbarians, ignorant of the arts 
of reading and writing, and hitherto unconquered by any 
foreign power : their survivors were removed to Samaria, 
where captives from Hamath had already been established, 
and where they were soon joined by further exiles from 
Babylon. This episode had greater effect than its impor- 




THE TOWX OF BIT-BAGAIA BUKXT BY THE ASSYRIANS. 1 

tance warranted ; or perhaps the majority of the neighbour 
ing states made it a convenient pretext for congratulating 
Sargon on his victories over more serious enemies. He 
received gifts from Shamshie, the Arabian queen who 
had formerly fought against Tiglath-pileser, from Itamar 
the Sabasan, and the sheikhs of the desert, from the 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the facsimile by Flandin. The tongues 
of flame which issue from the towers still bore traces of red and yellow 
colouring when the bas-relief was discovered. 



BOCCHORIS 373 

kings of the Mediterranean sea-board, and from the 
Pharaoh himself. Bocchoris had died after a troublous 
reign of seven years. 1 His real character is unknown, 
but as he left a deep impression on the memories of his 
people, it is natural to conclude that he displayed, at 
times, both ability and energy. Many legends in which 
the miraculous element prevailed were soon in circulation 
concerning him. He was, according to these accounts, 
weak in body and insignificant in appearance, but made 
up for these defects by mental ability and sound judgment. 
He was credited with having been simple in his mode 
of life, and was renowned as one of the six great legislators 
produced by Egypt. A law concerning debt and the 
legal rates of interest, was attributed to him ; he was 
also famed for the uprightness of his judgments, which 
were regarded as due to divine inspiration. Isis had 
bestowed on him a serpent, which, coiling itself round 
his head when he sat on the judgment-seat, covered him 
with its shadow, and admonished him not to forget for 
a moment the inflexible principles of equity and truth. 

1 The two dynasties of Tanis and Sais may be for the present recon 
stituted as follows : 

XXIII. (Tanite) Dynasty. XXIV. (Saite) Dynasty. 

I. UAHKARt BuKUNIRt- 

NIF BOCCHORIS 



I. SAHARURI PATISI- 



. . . PETUBASTIS 

II. AKHPlRRl SOTPU-. 
NIAMOXU OSOR- 

KONMARIAMONU OSORKON III. 
III. PSAMUTI . . . PSAMMUTHIS 

Neither Tafnakhti nor any of the local sovereigns mentioned on the stele of 
Pidnkhi were comprised in the official computation ; there is, therefore, no 
reason to add them to this list. 



374 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



A collection of the decisions he was reputed to have 
delivered in famous cases existed in the Graeco-Eoman 
period, and one of them is quoted at length: he had 
very ingeniously condemned a courtesan to touch the 
shadow of a purse as payment for the shadowy favours 
she had bestowed in a dream on her lover. An Alexandrian 
poet, Pancrates, versified the accounts of this juridical 
collection, 1 and the artists of the Imperial epoch drew 




KING BOCCHORIS GIVING JUDGMENT BETWEEN TWO WOMEN, RIVAL CLAIMANTS 

TO A CHILD. 2 

from it motives for mural decoration ; they portrayed the 
king pronouncing judgment between two mothers who 
disputed possession of an infant, between two beggars 
laying claim to the same cloak, and between three men 
asserting each of them his right to a wallet full of food. 3 
A less favourable tradition represents the king as an 
avaricious and irreligious sovereign: he is said one day 

1 Pancrates lived in the time of Hadrian, and Athenseus, who has pre 
served his memory for us, quotes the first book of his Bocchoreidion. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin. 

3 Considerable remains of this decorative cycle have been discovered at 
Pompeii and at Rome, in a series of frescoes, in which Lumbroso and E. Lcewy 
recognise the features of the legends of Bocchoris ; the dispute between the two 
mothers recalls the famous judgment of Solomon (1 Kings iii. 16-28). 



THE ACCESSION OF SABACO 



375 



to have conceived the sacrilegious desire to bring about 
a conflict between an ordinary bull and the Mnevis adored 
at Heliopolis. The gods, doubtless angered by his crimes, 
are recorded to have called into being a lamb with eight 
feet, which, suddenly breaking into articulate speech, 
predicted that Upper and Lower Egypt would be disgraced 
by the rule of a stranger. 1 The monuments of his reign 
which have come down to us tell 
us nothing of his deeds ; we can 
only conjecture that after the 
defeat sustained by his generals at 
Kaphia, the discords which had 
ruined the preceding dynasties 
again broke out with renewed vio 
lence. Indeed, if he succeeded in 
preserving his crown for several 
years longer, he owed the fact more 
to the feebleness of the Ethiopians 
than to his own vigour : no sooner did an enterprising 
prince appear at Barkal and demand that he should render 
an account of his usurpation, than his power came to an 
end. Kashto having died about 716, 3 his son Shabaku, 
the Sabaco of the Greeks, inherited the throne, and his 

1 This legend, preserved by Manetho and ^lian is also known from the 
fragments of a demotic papyrus at Vienna, which contains the prophecy of 
the lamb. 

2 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Lepsius. 

3 The date of the accession of Sabaco is here fixed at 716-715, because 
I follow the version of the lists of Manetho, which gives twelve years as the 
reign of that prince ; an inscription from Hammamat mentions his twelfth 
year. 




SABACO. 2 



376 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

daughter Amenertas the priesthood and principality of 
Thebes, in right of her mother Shapenuapit. Sabaco was 
an able and energetic prince, who could by no means 
tolerate the presence of a rival Pharaoh in the provinces 
which Pionkhi had conquered. He declared war, and, being 
doubtless supported in his undertaking by all the petty 
kings and great feudal nobles whose jealousy was aroused 
by the unlooked-for prosperity of the Saite monarch, he 
defeated Bocchoris and took him prisoner. Tafnakhti had 
formerly recognised the Ethiopian supremacy, and Boc 
choris, when he succeeded to his father s dominions, had 
himself probably sought investiture at the hands of the 
King of Napata. Sabaco treated him as a rebel, and 
either burnt or flayed him alive (715). 1 The struggle was 
hardly over, when the news of Sargon s victories reached 
Egypt. It was natural that the new king, not yet securely 
seated on his throne, should desire to conciliate the 
friendship of a neighbour who was so successful in war, 
and that he should seize the first available pretext to 
congratulate him. The Assyrian on his part received 
these advances with satisfaction and pride : he perceived 
in them a guarantee that Egyptian intrigues with Tyre 
and Jerusalem would cease, and that he could henceforth 
devote himself to his projects against Eusas without being 
distracted by the fear of an Ethiopian attack and the 
subversion of Syria in his rear. 

Sargon took advantage of these circumstances to strike 
a final blow at Urartu. He began in the spring of 714 by 

1 According to Manetho, he was burnt alive; the tradition which 
mentions that he was flayed alive is found in John of Antioch. 



OVERTHROW OF URZAXA AND RUSAS 377 

collecting among the Mannai the tribute due from Ullusuna, 
Dalta, and the Median chiefs ; then pushing forward into 
the country of tk e Zikartu, he destroyed three forts and 
twenty-four villages, and burnt their capital, Parda. 
Mitatti escaped servitude, but it was at the price of his 
power : a proscribed fugitive, deserted by his followers, 
he took refuge in the woods, and never submitted to his 
conqueror ; but he troubled him no further, and disappeared 
from the pages of history. Having achieved this result, 
Sargon turned towards the north-west, and coming at 
length into close conflict with Rusas, did not leave his 
enemy till he had crushed him. He drove him into the 
gorges of Uaush, slaughtered a large number of his troops, 
and swept away the whole of his body-guard a body of 
cavalry of two hundred men, all of whom were connected 
by blood with the reigning family. Eusas quitted his 
chariot, and, like his father Sharduris on the night of the 
disaster at Kishtan, leaped upon a mare, and fled, over 
whelmed with shame, into the mountains. His towns, 
terror-stricken, opened their gates at the first summons 
to the victor ; Sargon burnt those which he knew he could 
not retain, granted the district of Uaush to his vassal 
Ullusunu as a recompense for his loyalty, and then marched 
up to rest awhile in Nairi, where he revictualled his troops 
at the expense of lanzu of Khubushkia. He had, no doubt, 
hoped that Urzana of Muzazir, the last of the friends of 
Rusas to hold out against Assyria, would make good use of 
the respite thus, to all appearances unintentionally, afforded 
him, and would come to terms ; but as the appeal to his 
clemency was delayed, Sargon suddenly determined to 



378 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



assume the aggressive. Muzazir, entrenched within its 
mountain ranges, was accessible only by. one or two 
dangerous passes ; Urzana had barricaded these, and 
believed himself in a position to defy every effort of the 
Assyrians. Sargon, equally convinced of the futility of 
a front attack, had recourse to a surprise. Taking with 
him his chariots and one thousand picked horsemen, he 




TAKING OF A TOWN IN URARTU BY THE ASSYRIANS. 1 

left the beaten track, and crossing the four or five mountain 
chains the Shiak, the Ardinshi, the Ulayau, and the 
Alluria which lay between him and Muzazir, he un 
expectedly bore down upon the city. Urzana escaped after 
a desperate resistance, but the place was taken by assault 
and sacked, the palace destroyed, the temple overthrown, 
and the statues of the gods Khaldia and Bagbartu dragged 
from their sanctuary. The entire royal family were sent 
into slavery, and with them 20,170 of the inhabitants who 
had survived the siege, besides 690 mules, 920 oxen, 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the drawing by Botta. 



THE CLOSE OF THE URARTIAN EMPIRE 



379 



100,225 sheep, and incalculable spoils in gold, silver, 
bronze, iron, and precious stones and stuffs, the furniture 
of Urzana, and even his seal, being deposited in the 
treasury at Nineveh. The disaster at Muzazir was the 
final blow to Urartu; it is impossible to say what took 
place where Eusas himself was, and whether the feudatories 
refused him any further allegiance, but in a short time he 
found himself almost forsaken, without friends, troops, or 

a place of refuge, and ....^^^^^^^M 

reduced to choose be 
tween death or the degra 
dation of appealing to 
the mercy of the con 
queror. He stabbed him 
self rather than yield ; 
and Sargon, only too 
thankful to be rid of such 
a dangerous adversary, stopped the pursuit. Argistis II. 
succeeded to what was left of his father s kingdom, 2 and, 
being anxious above all things to obtain peace for his sub 
jects, suspended hostilities, without however disarming his 
troops. As was the case under Tiglath-pileser III., Urartu 
neither submitted to Assyria, nor was there any kind of 
treaty between the belligerents to prescribe the conditions 

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from an impression of the original seal 
which is preserved at the Hague. 

2 No text states positively that Argistis II. immediately succeeded his 
father ; but he is found mentioned as King of Urartu from 708 onwards, 
and hence it has been concluded, not without some reason, that such was the 
fact. The Vannic inscriptions have not as yet given us this sovereign s 
name. 




THE SEAL OF TJRZAXA, KING OF MUZAZIR. 1 



380 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

of this temporary truce. Both sides maintained their 
positions on their respective territories : Sargon kept the 
frontier towns acquired by him in previous years, and which 
he had annexed to the border provinces, retaining also 
his suzerainty over Muzazlr, the Mannai, and the Median 
states implicated in the struggle ; Argistis, on his side, 
strengthened himself in the regions around the sources 
of the Euphrates and Lake Van in Bialnas, in Etius, and 
in the plains of the Araxes. The material injuries which 
he had received, however considerable they may appear, 
were not irreparable, and, as a fact, the country quickly 
recovered from them, but the people s confidence in their 
prince and his chiefs was destroyed. The defeat of 
Sharduris, following as it did on a period of advantageous 
victories, may have seemed to Argistis one of those 
unimportant occurrences which constantly take place in 
the career of the strongest nations ; the disaster of Busas 
proved to him that, in attempting to wipe out his first 
repulse, he had only made matters worse, and the conviction 
was borne in upon his princes that they were not in a 
position to contest the possession of Western Asia with the 
Assyrians. They therefore renounced, more from instinct 
than as the result of deliberation, the project of enlarging 
their borders to the south, and if they subsequently re 
appeared on the Mesopotamian plains, it was in search of 
booty, and not to acquire territory. Any attempt to stop 
their incursions, or to disturb them in their mountain 
fastnesses, found them prepared to hold their own with 
the same obstinacy as of old, and they were quite able to 
safeguard their independence against an intruder. Besides 



DEFEAT OF AMITASHSHI 



381 



this, the Cimmerians and the Scythians were already 
pressing on their frontier, and were constantly harassing 
them. This fresh danger absorbed their entire attention, 
and from this time forward they ceased to play a part in 
general history ; the century which had seen the rise and 
growth of their 
power was also a 
witness of their 
downfall under the 
attacks of Assyria. 
During the last 
months of 714, the 
tribeswhichhad for 
merly constituted 
the kingdom of 
Karalla mutinied 
against the tyranny 
of their governor, 
and invited Ami- 
tashshi, the brother of their ancient lord Assurli, to rule 
over them. Sargon attacked them in the spring of 713, 
dispersed their troops, held them to ransom, and after 
having once more exacted homage from Bit-Dayaukku, 2 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the facsimile by Flandin. It seems 
that this town was called Amkaru, and its name appears, as far as I know, 
in none of the accounts which we possess of the campaigns. The town was 
apparently situated in Karalla or in Median territory. 

2 The Dayaukku who gave his name to this province was at first con 
founded with the personage who was entangled in the affairs of Ullusunu, 
and was then banished by Sargon to Hamath. A good number of historians 
now admit that they were different persons. Bit-Dayaukku is evidently the 
district of Ecbatana. 




THE ASSYKIANS TAKING A MEDIAN 



382 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

Ellipi, and Allabria, made a raid extending as far as the 
confines of the Iranian desert, the barren steppes of 
Eastern Arabia, 1 and the district of Nagira belonging to 
the "powerful Manda. 2 While he was thus preparing 
the way for peace in his Median domains, one of his 
generals crossed the Euphrates to chastise the Tabal for 
their ill deeds. The latter had figured, about the year 
740 B.C., among the peoples who had bowed before the 
supremacy of Urartu, and their chief, Uassarmi, had been 
the ally or vassal of Sharduris. Contemptuously spared 
at the taking of Arpad, he had not been able to resign 
himself to the Assyrian yoke, and had, in an ill-timed 
moment, thrown it off in 731 ; he had, however, been 
overcome and forced to surrender, and Tiglath-pileser had 
put in his place a man of obscure birth, named Khulli, 
whose fidelity had remained unshaken throughout the 
reign of Shalmaneser V. and the first years of Sargon. 
Khulli s son, Ambaridis, the husband of a Ninevite princess, 
who had brought him as dowry a considerable part of 
Cilicia, had been unable to resist the flattering offers of 
Eusas ; he had broken the ties which attached him to the 
new Assyrian dynasty, but had been left unmolested so 
long as Urartu and Muzazir remained unshaken, since 

1 The Eastern Arabs mentioned here were nomadic, and inhabited the 
confines of the Great Desert to the south-east of Media, or the steppes of 
Northern Iran. They are those mentioned in a passage of Appian, together 
with Parthians, Bactrians, and Tapyraeans, as having submitted to Seleucus. 

2 The "powerful" Manda, encamped in the mountain and desert, and 
who were named after the Eastern Arabs, must be the peoples situated 
between the Caspian and the steppes of the Iranian plateau, and a branch of 
the Scythians who are soon to appear in Asiatic history. 



AN ASSYRIAN PROVINCE IN CAPPADOCIA 383 

his position at the western extremity of the empire 
prevented him from influencing in the smallest degree 
the issue of the struggle, and it was well known that 
when the fall of Rusas took place Ambaridis would be 
speedily brought to account. He was, in fact, seized, 
banished to the banks of the Tigris, and his hereditary 
fief of Blt-Burutash annexed to Cilicia, under the rule 
of an Assyrian. The following year was signalised by a 
similar execution at which Sargon himself deigned to 
preside in person. Tarkhunazi, the King of Miliddu, not 
only had taken advantage of the troubles consequent on 
the Armenian war to rebel against his master, but had 
attacked Gunzinanu, who held, and had ruthlessly pillaged, 
the neighbouring district of Kammanu. 1 Sargon overcame 
him in the open field, took from him his city of Miliddu, 
and stormed the town of Tulgarimme in which he had 
taken refuge. 2 Here again the native kingdom dis 
appeared, and was replaced by an Assyrian administration. 
Kammanu, wedged in between Urartu and Mushki, 
separated these two countries, sometimes rivals to each 
other, but always enemies to Nineveh. Its maintenance 
as an independent kingdom prevented them from com 
bining their efforts, and obtaining that unity of action 
which alone could ensure for them, if not a definite 
triumph, at least preservation from complete extinction 

1 Kammanu is probably not the Kammanene of the Greek geographers, 
which is too far north relatively to Melitene, but is probably Comana of 
Cappadocia and its district. 

2 Tulgarimme has been connected with the Togarmah of the Bible (Gen. 
x. 3) by Halevy and Delitzsch, and their views on this subject have been 
adopted by most historians. 



384 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

and an opportunity of maintaining their liberty ; the 
importance of the position, however, rendered it particularly 
perilous to hold, and the Assyrians succeeded in so doing 
only by strongly fortifying it. Walls were built round 
ten cities, five on the Urartian frontier, three on that 
of Mushki, and two on the north, and the country which 
they protected was made into a new province, that of 
Tulgarimmfc, the district of Miliddu being confided to 
the care of Mutallu, Prince of Kurnraukh (710). An incident 
which took place in the following year furnished a pretext 
for completing the organisation and military defence of 
this western border province. Gurgum had been for thirty 
years or more in the possession of Tarkhulara ; this prince, 
after having served Sharduris, had transferred his homage 
to Tiglath-pileser, and he had thenceforward professed an 
unwavering loyalty to the Assyrian sovereigns. This accom 
modating personage was assassinated by his son Mutallu ; 
and Sargon, fearing a revolt, hastened, at the head of a 
detachment of picked troops, to avenge him. The murderer 
threw down his arms almost without having struck a blow, 
and Gurgum was thenceforward placed under the direct 
rule of Nineveh. The affair had not been brought to a 
close before an outbreak took place in Southern Syria, 
which might have entailed very serious consequences had 
it not been promptly dealt with. Egypt, united from 
end to end under the sceptre of Sabaco, jealously kept 
watch over the political complications in Asia, and though 
perhaps she was not sure enough of her own strength to 
interfere openly before the death of Eusas, she had renewed 
negotiations with the petty kingdoms of the Hebrews and 






THE REVOLT AND THE FALL OF ASEDOD 385 

Philistines. Ashdod had for some time past showed signs 
of discontent, and it had been found necessary to replace 
their king, Azuri, who had refused to pay tribute, by his 
brother Akhimiti; shortly after this, however, the people 
had risen in rebellion: they had massacred Akhimiti, 
whom they accused of being a mere thrall of Assyria, 
and had placed on the throne Yamani, a soldier of fortune, 
probably an adventurer of Hellenic extraction. 1 The other 
Philistine cities had immediately taken up arms; Edom 
and Moab were influenced by the general movement, and 
Isaiah was striving to avert any imprudent step on the 
part of Judah. Sargon despatched the TartaD, 2 and the 
rapidity with which that officer carried out the campaign 
prevented the movement from spreading beyond Philistia. 
He devastated Ashdod, and its vassal, Gath, carried off 
their gods and their inhabitants, and peopled the cities 
afresh with prisoners from Asia Minor, Urartu, and Media. 
Yamani attempted to escape into Egypt, but the chief 
of Milukhkha intercepted him on his way, and handed 
him over in chains to the conqueror. 3 The latter took 

This prince s name, usually written Yamani, is also written Yatnani in 
the Annals, and this variation, which is found again in the name of the 
island of Cyprus and the Cypriotes, gives us grounds for believing that the 
Assyrian scribe took the race-name of the prince for a proper name : the 
new king of Ashdod would have been a Yamani, a Greek of Cyprus. 

The Assyrian narratives, as usual, give the honour of conducting the 
campaign to the king. Isaiah (xx. 1) distinctly says that Sargon sent the 
Tartan to quell the revolt of Ashdod. 

The Annalt state that Yamani was made prisoner and taken to Assyria. 
The Pastes, more accurate on this point, state that he escaped to Muzri, and 
that he was given up by the King of Milukhkha. The Muzri mentioned in 
this passage very probably here means Egypt. 

VOL. VII. 2 C 



386 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

care not to call either Moab, Edoni, or Judali to account 
for the part they had taken in the movement, perhaps 
because they were not mentioned in his instructions, or 
because he preferred not to furnish them, by an untimely 
interference, with a pretext for calling in the help of 
Egypt. The year was doubtless too far advanced to allow 
him to dream of marching against Pharaoh, and moreover 
that would have been one of those important steps which 
the king alone had the right to take. There was, however, 
no doubt that the encounter between the two empires 
was imminent, and Isaiah ventured to predict the precise 
date of its occurrence. He walked stripped and barefoot 
through the streets of Jerusalem a strange procedure 
which he explained by the words which Jahveh had put 
into his lips : " Like as My servant Isaiah hath walked 
naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder 
upon Egypt and upon Kush (Ethiopia) ; so shall the King 
of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles 
of Kush, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with 
buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they 
shall be dismayed and ashamed, because of Kush their 
expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the in 
habitants of this coastland shall say in that day, Behold, 
such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be 
delivered from the King of Assyria: and we, how shall 

we escape ? 

The fulfilment of this prophecy did not take place as 
quickly as the prophet perhaps desired. Egypt appeared 
too strong to be openly attacked by a mere section of the 

1 Isa. xx. 



WAR AGAINST MERODACH-BALADA?; 387 

battalions at the disposal of Assyria, and besides, it may 
have been deemed imprudent to involve the army to any 
serious extent on so distant a field as Africa, when Babylon 
was ready and waiting to fall upon the very heart of 
Assyria at the first news of a real or supposed reverse. 
Circumstances seemed, moreover, to favour a war against 
Merodach-baladan. This sovereign, who had been received 
with acclamation by the Babylonians, had already lost the 
popularity he had enjoyed at his accession. The fickle 
character of the people, which made them nearly always 
welcome a fresh master with enthusiasm, soon led them 
from love and obedience to hatred, and finally to revolt. 
Merodach-baladan trusted to the Kalda to help him to 
maintain his position, and their rude barbarity, even if it 
protected him against the fickleness of his more civilised 
subjects, increased the discontent at Kutha, Sippar, and 
Borsippa. He removed the statues of the gods from these 
towns, imprisoned the most turbulent citizens, confiscated 
their goods, and distributed them among his own followers ; 
the other cities took no part in the movement, but Sargon 
must have expected to find in them, if not effective support, 
at least sympathies which would facilitate his work of 
conquest. It is true that Elarn, whose friendship for the 
Aramaean was still undirninished, remained to be reckoned 
with, but Elam had lost much of its prestige in the last few 
years. The aged Khumban-igash had died in 71 7, 1 and his 

The date of the death of Khumban-igash is indirectly given in the 
passage of the Babylonian Chronicle of Pinches, where it is said that in 
the first year of Ashshur-nadin-shumu, King of Babylon, Ishtar-khundu 
(= Shutruk-nakhunta) was dethroned by his brother, Khallushu, after 



388 SABGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

successor, Shutruk-naklmnta, had not apparently inherited 
all the energy of his father, 1 and it is possible that troubles 
had arisen among the vassals of his own kingdom which 
prevented him from interfering on behalf of his ally. 
Sargon took account of all these circumstances in arranging 
his plan of campaign. He divided his army into two forces, 
one of which, under his own command, was to be directed 
against Merodach-baladan, while the other was to attack 
the insurgent Aramasans on the left bank of the Tigris, and 
was to be manoeuvred so as to drive Shutruk-naklmnta 
back on the marshes of the Uknu. 2 The eastern force was 
the first to be set in movement, and it pushed forward into 
the territory of the Gambulu. These latter had con 
centrated themselves round Dur-Atkharas, one of their 
citadels ; 3 they had increased the height of the walls, and 

having reigned over Elam eighteen years : these events actually took place, 
as we shall see below, about the year 699 before our era. 

1 Shutruk-nakhunta is the Susian form of the name ; the Assyrian texts 
distort it into Shutur-nankhundi, and the Bali/Ionian Chronicle of Pinclics, 
into Ishtar-khundu, owing to a faint resemblance in the sound of the name 
of the goddess Ishtar with the form Shutur, Sthur, itself derived from Shutruk, 
with which the name began. 

2 The earlier historians of Assyria, misled in the first place by the form 
in which the scribes have handed down the account in the Annals and the 
Pastes, assumed the existence of a single army, led by Sargon himself, and 
which would have marched on all the above-mentioned places of the country, 
one by one. Tiele was the first to recognise that Sargon must have left part 
of his forces to the command of one of his lieutenants, and Winckler, en 
larging on this idea, showed that there were then two armies, engaged at 
different seats of war, but manoeuvring as far as possible by mutual arrange 

merit. 

3 The site of Dur-Atkharas is unknown. Billerbeck places it hypothet 
cally on the stream of Mendeli, and his conjecture is in itself very plausible 
I should incline, however, to place it more to the south, on account of the 



THE DEFEAT OF SHUTRUK-NAKHUNTA II. 389 

filled the ditches with water brought from the Slmrappu by 
means of a canal, and having received a reinforcement of 
COO horsemen and 4000 foot soldiers, they had drawn them 
up in front of the ramparts. A single morning sufficed to 
disperse them, and the Assyrians, entering the city with 
the fugitives, took possession of it on the same day. They 
made 10,490 prisoners, and seized horses, mules, asses, 
camels, and both sheep and oxen in large numbers. Eight 
of the chiefs of the neighbourhood, who ruled over the flat 
country between the Shurappu and the Uknu, begged for 
mercy as soon as they learned the result of the engagement. 
The name of Dur-Atkharas was changed to that of Dur- 
Nebo, the territory of the Gambulu was converted into a 
province, and its organisation having been completed, the 
army continued its march, sweeping before it the Rua, the 
Khindaru, the Puqudu, in short, all the tribes occupying 
the district of Yatbur. The chiefs of these provinces 
sought refuge in the morasses of the lower Kerkha, but 
finding themselves surrounded and short of provisions, they 
were forced by famine to yield to the enemy, and came to 
terms with the Assyrians, who imposed a tribute on them 
and included them within the new province of Gambulu. 
The goal of this expedition was thus attained, and Elam 
separated from Karduniash, but the issue of the war 

passage in which it is said that the Kaldfi, to complete the defences of the 
town, brought a canal from the Shurappu and fortified its banks. The 
Shurappu, according to Delitzsch, would be the Shatt Umm-el-Jemal ; 
according to Delattre, the Kerkha ; the account of the campaign under con 
sideration would lead me to recognise in it a watercourse like the Tib, which 
runs into the Tigris near Amara, in which case the ruins of Kherib would 
perhaps correspond with the site of Dur-Atkharas. 



390 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

remained undecided as long as Skutruk-nakhnnta held the 
cities at the edge of the plain, from which he could emerge 
at will into the heart of the Assyrian position. - The 
conqueror therefore turned in that direction, rapidly took 
from him the citadels of Shanmna and Bahduri, then those 
of Lakhirimmu and Pillutu, and pitched his camp on the 
bank of the Naditi, from whence he despatched marauding 
bands to pillage the country. Dismay spread throughout 
the district of Eashi ; the inhabitants, abandoning their 
cities Tll-Khumba, Durmishamash, Bubi, and Khamanu 
migrated as far as Bit-Inibi ; Shutruk-nakhunta, overcome 
with fear, took refuge, so it was said, in the distant 
mountains to preserve his life. 1 Sargon, meanwhile, had 
crossed the Euphrates with the other force, and had 
marched straight upon Bit-Dakkuri ; having there noticed 
that the fortress of Dur-Ladinu was in ruins, he rebuilt it, 

1 None of these places can be identified with certainty. So far as I can 
follow the account of this campaign on the map, it seems that the attacks 
upon Shutruk-nakhunta took place on the plain arid in the mountains between 
the Ab-i-Gengir and the Tib, so that the river Naditi would be the Aftah or 
one of its tributaries. If this were so, Lakhirimmu and Pillutu would be 
situated somewhere near the Jughai ben Euan and the Tepe Ghulamen of 
de Morgan s map of Elam, Shamuna near Zirzir-tepi, Babduri near Hosseini- 
yeh. But I wish it to be understood that I do not consider these com 
parisons as more than simple conjectures. Bit-Imbi was certainly out of the 
reach of the Assyrians, since it was used as a place of refuge by the inhabi 
tants of Rashi ; at the same time it must have been close to Rashi, since the 
people of this country fled thither. The site of Ghilan which de Morgan has 
adopted on his map seems to me to be too far north to comply with these 
conditions, and that of Tapa, approved by Billerbeck, too southerly. If, as 
I believe, Rashi corresponds to the regions of Pushti-kuh which lie on both 
sides of the upper waters of the Mendeli stream, we ought to look for Bit- 
Imbi somewhere near the Desht-i-Ghoaur and the Zenjan, near a point where 
communication with the banks of the Ab-i-Kirind would be easy. 



THE CONQUEST OF BABYLON 391 

and, firmly installed within the heart of the country, he 
patiently waited until the eastern force had accomplished 
its mission. Like his adversary, Merodach-baladan, he had 
no desire to be drawn into an engagement until he knew 
what chance there was of the latter being reinforced by the 
King of Elam. At the opening of hostilities Merodach- 
baladan claimed the help of the Elamite king, and lavished 
on him magnificent presents a couch, a throne, a portable 
chair, a cup for the royal offerings, and his own pectoral 
chain ; these all reached their destination in good con 
dition, and were graciously accepted. But before long the 
Elamite prince, threatened in his own domain, forgot 
everything except his own personal safety, and declared 
himself unable to render Merodach-baladan any assistance. 
The latter, on receiving this news, threw himself with his 
face in the dust, rent his clothes, and broke out into loud 
weeping ; after which, conscious that his strength would 
not permit of his meeting the enemy in the open field, he 
withdrew his men from the other side of the Tigris, escaped 
secretly by night, and retired with his troops to the fortress 
of Ikbibel. The inhabitants of Babylon and Borsippa did 
not allow themselves to be disconcerted ; they brought the 
arks of Bel, Zarpanit, Nebo, and Tashmit out of their 
sanctuaries, and came forth with chanting and musical 
instruments to salute Sargon at Dur-Ladinu. He entered 
the city in their company, and after he had celebrated the 
customary sacrifices, the people enthroned him in 
Merodach-baladan s palace. Tribute was offered to him, 
but lie refused to accept any part of it for his personal use, 
and applied it to a work of public utility the repairing of 



392 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

the ancient canal of Borsippa, which had become nearly 
filled up. This done, he detached a body of troops to occupy 
Sippara, and returned to Assyria, there to take up his 
winter quarters. 

Once again, therefore, the ancient metropolis of the 
Euphrates was ruled by an Assyrian, who united in one 
protrocol the titles of the sovereigns of Assur and Kar- 
duniash. Babylon possessed for the kings of Nineveh 
the same kind of attraction as at a later date drew 
the German Caisars to Rome. Scarcely had the Assyrian 
monarchs been crowned within their own domains, than 
they turned their eyes towards Babylon, and their 
ambition knew no rest till the day came for them to 
present themselves in pomp within the temple of its god 
and implore his solemn consecration. When at length 
they had received it, they scrupulously secured its renewal 
on every occasion which the law prescribed, and their 
chroniclers recorded among the important events of the 
year, the ceremony in which they " took the hand of 
Bel." Sargon therefore returned, in the month Nisan 
of the year 709, to preside over the procession of the 
god, and he devoutly accomplished the rites which con 
stituted him the legitimate successor of the semi-fabulous 
heroes of the old empire, foremost among whom was his 
namesake Shargani of Agade. He offered sacrifices to 
Bel, Nebo, and to the divinities of Sumir and Akkad, 
and he did not return to the camp until he had fulfilled 
all the duties incumbent on his new dignity. He was in 
volved that year in two important wars at opposite 
points of his empire. One was at the north-western 



SARGON ENCOUNTERS MERODACH-BALADAN 393 

extremity, against the Mushki and their king Mita, who, 
after having supported Eusas, was now intriguing with 
Argistis ; the other in the south-east, against the Kalda, 
and probably also against Elam. He entrusted the 
conduct of the former to the governor of Kui, but 
reserved to himself the final reckoning with Merodach- 
baladan. The Babylonian king had made good use of 
the respite given him during the winter months. Too 
prudent to meet his enemy in the open plain, he had 
transformed his hereditary principality into a formidable 
citadel. During the preceding campaign he had devas 
tated the whole of the country lying between the 
marshes and the territory occupied by the Assyrians, 
and had withdrawn the inhabitants. Most of the 
towns Ikbibel, Urn, Uruk, Kishik, and Nimid-laguda 
were also deserted, and no garrisons were left in them. 
He had added to the fortifications of Dur-Yakio, and 
enlarged the rnoat till it was two hundred cubits wide 
and eighteen deep, so as to reach the level of infil 
tration ; he then turned into it the waters of the Euphrates, 
so that the town appeared to be floating on a lake, 
without either bridges or quays by means of which the 
besiegers might have brought their machines within range 
and their troops been able to approach for an assault. 
Merodach-baladan had been careful not to shut himself 
within the town, but had taken up a position in the 
marshes, and there awaited the arrival of the Assyrians. 
Sargon, having left Babylon in the month of lyyar, 
encountered him within sight of Dur-Yakin. The Ara 
maean infantry were crushed by repeated charges from 



394 SARGO^ II. OF ASSYRIA 

the Niuevite chariotry and cavalry, who pursued the 
fugitives to the outer side of the moat, and seized the 
camp with all its baggage and the royal train, includ 
ing the king s tent, a canopy of solid silver which 
protected the throne, his sceptre, weapons, and stores of 
all kinds. The peasants, to the number of 90,580, crowded 
within the lines, also fell into their hands, together with 
their flocks and herds 2500 horses, 610 mules, and 
854 camels, as well as sheep, oxen, and asses ; the re 
mainder of the fugitives rushed within the outworks for 
refuge " like a pack of wild boars," and finally were 
driven into the interior of the place, or scattered among 
the beds of reeds along the coast. S argon cut down 
the groves of palm trees which adorned the suburbs, 
and piled up their trunks in the moat, thus quickly 
forming a causeway right up to the walls. Merodach- 
baladan had been wounded in the arm during the 
engagement, but, nevertheless, fought stubbornly in defence 
of his city ; when he saw that its fall was inevitable, 
he fled to the other side of the gulf, and took refuge 
among the mud flats of the Lower Ulai. Sargon set 
fire to Dur-Yakin, levelled its towers and walls with the 
ground, and demolished its houses, temples, and palaces. 
It had been a sort of penal settlement, to which the 
Kalda, rulers used to consign those of their subjects 
belonging to the old aboriginal race, who had rendered 
themselves obnoxious by their wealth or independence 
of character ; the number of these prisoners was consider 
able. Babylon, Borsippa, Nipur, and Sippar, not to speak 
of Uru, Uruk, Eridu, Larsam, and Kishik, having all 



SUBMISSION OF THE MUSHKI :V.r> 

of them furnished their share. Sargon released them 
all, and restored their gods to the temples ; he expelled 
the nomads from the estates which, contrary to all 
justice, had been distributed among them in preceding 
years, and reinstated the former owners. Karduniash, 
which had been oppressed for twelve long years by a 
semi-barbarian despot, now breathed again, and hailed 
Sargon as its deliverer, while he on his part was actively 
engaged in organising his conquest. The voluntary sub 
mission of Upiri, King of Dilmun, who lived isolated in 
the open sea, " as though in a bird s nest," secured to 
Sargon possession of the watercourses which flowed 
beyond the Chaldsean lake into the Persian Gulf: no 
sooner had he obtained it than he quitted the neigh 
bourhood of Dur-Yakin, crossed the Tigris, and reinforced 
the garrisons which lined his Elamite frontier on this 
side. He had just finished building a strongly fortified 
citadel on the site of Sagbat, 1 when ambassadors arrived 
from Mita. The governor of Kni had at length triumphed 
over the obstinacy of the Mushki, and after driving them 
from village to village, had compelled them to sue for terms : 
the tidings of the victories over the Kalda had doubtless 
hastened their decision, but they were still so powerful 
that it was thought wiser not to impose too rigorous 
conditions upon them. Mita agreed to pay tribute, and 
surrendered one or two districts, which were turned into 

1 This Sagbat, which must not be confused with the district of Bit- 
Sagbati mentioned in the reign of Tiglath-pileser III., seems to correspond 
with a post to the south of Durilu, perhaps the ruins of Baksayeh, on the 
Tchen<mla. 



396 



SARGOX II. OF ASSYRIA 



an Aramaean settlement : the inhabitants were transferred 
to Blfc-Yakin, where they had to make the best they 
could of lands that had been devastated by war. At this 
juncture the Greeks of Cyprus flattered the pride of the 
Assyrians in a most unexpected way: after the manner 

of their race they scoured the seas, and 
their fleets persistently devastated the 
coasts of Syria and Cilicia. Seven of 
their kings were so far alarmed by the 
report of Sargon s achievements as to 
dread punishment for their misdeeds. 
They therefore sent him presents, and, 
for the moment, abandoned their pirati 
cal expeditions in Phoenician waters. 
The homage of these inveterate robbers 
raised Sargon in his own eyes and in 
those of his subjects. Some years later, 
about 708 B.C., he presented them with 
a stele of black marble, on which he 
had engraved his own portrait, together 
with a long inscription setting forth his 
most glorious exploits. They set it up 
at Kition (Citium), where it has been 
preserved amongst the ruins, a priceless witness to the 
greatness of Assyria. 

While war thus raged around him, Sargon still found 
time for works of a peaceful character. He set himself 
to remodel and complete the system of irrigation in the 
Assyrian plain ; he repaired the dykes, and cleaned out 

Drawn by Faucher-Gudiii, from the plaster cast in the Louvre. 




STELE AT LARNAKA. 1 



BUILDINGS AT DUR -SHARRUKIN 397 

and made good the beds of the canals which had been 
neglected during the troublous times of the last generation. 
He erected buildings at Calah * and at Nineveh, but in 
these cities everything seemed to recall too vividly the 
memory of the sovereigns who had gone before him : he 
wished for a capital which should belong to himself alone, 
where he would not be reminded of a past in which he had 
no part. After meditating day and night, his choice fell 
upon the village of Maganubba, a little to the north-east 
of Nineveh, in a wide plain which extends from the banks 
of the Khuzur to the hills of Muzri, and by a single decree 
he expropriated all its inhabitants. He then built on the 
land which he had purchased from them a city of unrivalled 
magnificence, which he called by his own name, Dur- 
Sharrukin. 2 The ground plan of it is of rectangular shape, 
the sides being about 1900 yards long by 1800 yards wide, 
each corner exactly facing one of the four points of the 
compass. Its walls rest on a limestone sub-structure some 
three feet six inches high, and rise fifty-seven feet above 
the ground ; they are strengthened, every thirty yards or 

At Calah, he lived in an old palace of Assur-nazir-pal restored and 
adapted for his use, as shown by the inscription published by Layard. 

1 In most of the texts the village of Maganubba is not named ; it is 
mentioned in the Cylinder Inscription, and this document is the only one 
which furnishes details of the expropriation, etc. The modern name of the 
place is Khorsabad, the city of Khosroes, but the name of its founder was still 
associated with its ruins, in the time of Yakut, who mentions him under the 
name of Sarghun. It was first explored in 1843 by Botta, then by Place and 
Oppert. The antiquities collected there by Botta and Place constitute the 
bulk of the Assyrian Museum in the Louvre ; unfortunately, a part of the 
objects collected by Place went to the bottom of the Tigris with the lighter 
which was carrying them. 



398 



SARGOX II. OP ASSYRIA 



so, by battlemented towers which project thirteen feet from 
the face of the wall and stand sixteen feet higher than the 
ramparts. 1 Access was gained to the interior by eight 
gates, two on each side of the square, each of them marked 




PLAN OF THE KOYAL CITY OF DUK-SHARKUKIX. 2 

by two towers separated from one another by the width of 
the bay. Every gate had its patron, chosen from among 
the gods of the city ; there was the gate of Shamash, the 

Place reckoned the height of the wall at 75 feet, a measurement 
adopted by Perrot and Chipiez ; Dieulafoy has shown that the height of the 
wall must be reduced to 47 feet, and that of the towers about 65 feet. 
: Reduction by Faucher-Gudin, from the plan published in Place. 



THE GATES AND WALLS OF DUR-SHARRUKIN 399 

gate of Eammaii, those of Bel and Beltis, of Ann, of Ishtar, 
of Ea, and of the Lady of the Gods. Each of them was 
protected externally by a migdol, or small castle, built in 
the Syrian style, and flanked at each corner by a low tower 
thirteen yards in width ; five allowed of the passage of 
beasts as well as men. It was through these that the 
peasants came in every morning, driving their cattle before 
them, or jolting along in waggons laden with fruit and 
vegetables. After passing the outposts, they crossed a 
paved courtyard, then made their way between the two 
towers through a vaulted passage over fifty yards long, 
intersected at almost equal intervals by two transverse 
galleries. The other three gates had a special arrangement 
of their own; a flight of twelve steps built out in front 
of the courtyard rendered them inaccessible to animals or 
vehicles. At the entrance to the passage towered two 
colossal bulls with human heads, standing like sentinels- 
their faces and foreparts turned outward, their hind-quarters 
ranged along the inner walls as though gazing before 
them into space in company with two winged genii. The 
arch supported by their mitred heads was ornamented by 
a course of enamelled bricks, on which other genii, facing 
one another in pairs, offered pine-cones across a circular 
ornament of many colours. These were the mystic 
guardians of the city, who shielded it not only from the 
attacks of men, but also from invasions of evil spirits and 
pernicious diseases. The rays of the sun made the fore 
court warm in winter, while it was always cool under the 
archway in summer ; the gates served as resorts for pleasure 
or business, where old men and idlers congregated to discuss 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

their affairs and settle the destinies of the State, merchants 
bargained and disposed of their goods, and the judge and 
notables of the neighbouring quarter held their courts. 
It was here that the king generally exposed to view the 
chieftains and kings whom he had taken captive ; here 
they lay, chained like dogs in cages, dependent on the 
pity of their guards or of passers-by for such miserable fare 




PAKT OF THE ENAMELLED COUKSE OF A GATE. 1 

as might be flung to them, and, the first feeling of curiosity 
once passed, no longer provoking even the jeers of the 
crowd, until a day came when their victor took it into his 
head to remove them from their ignominious position, and 
either restored them to their thrones or sent them to the 
executioner. 2 The town itself, being built from plans 
drawn up by one mind, must have presented few of the 
irregularities of outline characteristic of ancient cities. 

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a drawing published in Place. 
To mention but a single instance, it was in this way that Assur-bani- 
pal treated the Arab kings captured by him. 



THE POPULATION OF THE CITY 401 

The streets leading from the gates were of uniform breadth 
throughout, from one side of the enclosure to the other. 
They were paved, had no sideways or footpaths, and crossed 
one another at right angles. The houses on either side 
of them seem, for the most part, to have consisted of a 
single story. They were built of bricks, either baked or 
unbaked, the outer surfaces of which were covered with 
white or tinted rough-casting. The high and narrow doors 
were nearly always hidden away in a corner of the front ; 
the bare monotony of the walls was only relieved here and 
there at long intervals by tiny windows, but often instead 
of a flat roof the building was surmounted by a conical 
dome or by semi-cupolas, the concave sides of which were 
turned inwards. The inhabitants varied greatly in race 
and language : S argon had filled his city with prisoners 
collected from all the four quarters of his empire, from 
Elam, Chaldsea, and Media, from Urartu and Tabal, Syria 
and Palestine, and in order to keep these incongruous 
elements in check he added a number of Assyrians, of the 
mercantile, official, or priestly classes. He could overlook 
the whole city from the palace which he had built on both 
sides the north-eastern wall of the town, half within and 
half without the ramparts. Like all palaces built on the 
Euphratean model, this royal castle stood on an artificial 
eminence of bricks formed of two rectangles joined together 
in the shape of the letter T. The only entrance to it was 
on the city side, foot-passengers being admitted by a double 
flight of steps built out in front of the ramparts, horsemen 
and chariots by means of an inclined plane which rose in a 
gentle gradient along the right flank of the masonry work, 

VOL. VII. 2 D 



402 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



and terminated on its eastern front. Two main gates 
corresponded to these two means of approach ; the one 
on the north-east led straight to the royal apartments, the 
other faced the city and opened on to the double staircase. 
It was readily distinguishable from a distance by its two 




BIKD S EYE VIEW OF SAEGON S PALACE AT DUB-SHABBUKiH. 1 

fiagstaffs bearing the royal standard, and its two towers, 
at the base of which were winged bulls and colossal figures 
of Gilgames crushing the lion. Two bulls of still more 
monstrous size stood sentry on either side of the gate, the 
arch was outlined by a course of enamelled bricks, while 
higher up, immediately beneath the battlements, was an 
enamelled mosaic showing the king in all his glory.. This 

J Drawn by Boudier, from the restoration by Thomas in PJace. 



ROYAL PALACE AT DUR-SHARRUKIN 



403 



triumphal arch was reserved for his special use, the 
common people being admitted by two side doors of 
smaller size less richly decorated. 

Sargon resided at Calah, where he had taken up his 
quarters in the ^ f ormer palace of Assur- 



nazir-pal, while 



his new city was still 




ONE OF THE GATES OF THE PALACE AT DUR-SHAKKUKIST. 1 

in the hands of the builders. Every moment that he could 
spare from his military and administrative labours was 
devoted to hastening on the progress of the work, and when 
ever he gained a victory or pillaged a district, he invariably 
set aside a considerable part of the booty in order to meet 
the outlay which the building involved. Thus we find that 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the restoration by Thomas, in 
Place. 



401 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 




on returning from his tenth campaign he brought with him 
an immense convoy laden with timber, stone, and precious 
metals which he had collected in the neighbourhood of 
Mount Taurus or among the mountains of Assyria, includ 
ing coloured marbles, lapis-lazuli, rock crystal, pine, cedar, 
and cypress-wood, gold, silver, and bronze, all of which 
was destined for Dur-Sharrukin ; the quantity of silver 

included among these 
materials was so great 
that its value fell to a 
level with that of copper. 
The interior of the build 
ing, as in the case of the 
old Chaldean palaces, 
was separated into two 
well - marked divisions. 
The larger of these was 
used by the king in his 
public capacity, and to 
this the nobles and sol 
diers, and even the com 
mon people, were admitted under certain conditions and on 
certain days prescribed by custom. The outer court was 
lined on three sides by warehouses and depots, in which 
were stored the provisions, commodities, and implements 
required for the host of courtiers and slaves who depended 
on the sovereign for support. Each room had, as may 
still bo seen, its own special purpose. There were cellars 
for wine and oil, with their rows of large oblong jars ; 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the plan by Thomas, in Place. 



PLAX OF THE EXCAVATED PORTIONS OF THE 
PALACE AT DUB-SIIAKRUKIN. 1 



THE ROYAL APARTMENTS AT DUR-SHARRUK1X 405 

then there were store-rooms for implements of iron, which 
Place found full of rusty helmets, swords, pieces of armour, 
maces, and ploughshares ; a little further on were rooms 
for the storage of copper weapons, enamelled bricks, and 
precious metals, and the king s private treasury, in which 
were hidden away the spoils of the vanquished or the 
regular taxes paid by his subjects ; some fine bronze lions 




ONE OF TIIE BKOXZE LIOXS FROM DUR-SHARRUKtN. 1 

of marvellous workmanship and lifelike expression were 
found still shut up here. The kitchens adjoined the 
pantries, and the stables for horses and camels com 
municated direct with the coach-houses in which the 
state chariots were kept, while the privies were discreetly 
hidden in a secluded corner. On the other side, among 
the buildings occupying the southern angle of the court 
yard, the menials of the palace lived huddled together, 
each family quartered in small, dark rooms. The royal 
apartments, properly so called, stood at the back of 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the original in the Louvre. 



406 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



these domestic offices, facing the south-east, near the 
spot where the inclined plane debouched on to the city 
ramparts. The monumental entrance to these apartments 
was guarded, in accordance with religious custom, by a 
company of winged bulls ; behind this gate was a lawn, 
then a second gate, a corridor and a grand quadrangle in 



r>* 




A HUNTING EXPEDITION IN THE WOODS NEAR DUR-SHARRUKIN. 1 

the very centre of the palace. The king occupied a suite 
of some twenty rooms of a rather simple character ; here 
he slept, ate, worked, and transacted the greater part of his 
daily business, guarded by his eunuchs and attended by his 
ministers and secretaries. The remaining rooms were apart 
ments of state, all of the same pattern, in which the crowd 
of courtiers and employes assembled while waiting for a 
private audience or to intercept the king as he passed. 
A. subdued light made its way from above through narrow 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Guclin, from a drawing by Flandin, in Botta. 



INTERIOR DECORATIONS OF THE PALACE 407 

windows let into the massive arches. The walls were lined 
to a height of over nine feet from the floor with endless bas- 
reliefs, in greyish alabaster, picked out in bright colours, and 
illustrating the principal occupations in which the sovereign 
spent his days, such as the audiences to ambassadors, 
hunting in the woods, sieges and battles. A few brief 
inscriptions interspersed above pictures of cities and 
persons indicated the names of the vanquished chiefs or 
the scenes of the various events portrayed ; detailed 
descriptions were engraved on the back of the slabs 
facing the brick wall against which they rested. This 
was a precautionary measure, the necessity for which 
had been but too plainly proved by past experience. 
Every one the king himself included well knew that 
some day or other Dur-Sharrukin would be forsaken just 
as the palaces of previous dynasties had been, and it 
was hoped that inscriptions concealed in this manner 
would run a better chance of escaping the violence of 
man or the ravages of time ; preserved in them, the 
memory of Sargon would rise triumphant from the ruins. 
The gods reigned supreme over the north-east angle 
of the platform, and a large irregular block of buildings 
was given up to their priests ; their cells contained nothing 
of any particular interest, merely white walls and black 
plinths, adorned here and there with frescoes embellished 
by arabesques, and pictures of animals and symbolical 
genii. The ziggurdt rose to a height of some 141 feet 
above the esplanade. It had seven storeys dedicated 
to the gods of the seven planets, each storey being painted 
in the special colour of its god the first white, the second 



408 



SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 



black, the third purple, the fourth blue, the fifth a 
vermilion red ; the sixth was coated with silver, and the 
seventh gilded. There was no chamber in the centre 
of the tower, but a small gilded chapel probably stood 
at its base, which was used for the worship of Assur 
or of Ishtar. The harem, or Btt-riduti, was at the 
southern corner of the enclosure, almost in the shadow 

^ of the ziggur&t. Sargon had pro 
bably three queens when he 
founded his city, for the harem 
is divided into three separate 
apartments, of which the two 
larger look out on the same 
quadrangle. Two courses 
of enamelled bricks ran 



along the base of the 
facade, while statues 
were placed at intervals 
againt the wall, and the 

bay of the gateway was framed by two bronze palm trees 
gilt : the palm being the emblem of fruitfulness and grace, 
no more fitting decoration could have been chosen for 
this part of the building. The arrangement was the same 
in all three divisions : an ante-chamber of greater width 
than length ; an apartment, one half of which was open 
to the sky, while the other was covered by a half-dome, 
and a flight of twelve steps, leading to an alcove in 
which stood a high wooden couch. The queens and 
princesses spent their lives in this prison-like bU-riduti : 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the restoration by Thomas, in Place. 




THE ZIGGURAT AT DUR-SHARRUKIN. 1 



THE HAREM OF DUR-SHARRUKIN 



409 



their time was taken up with dress, embroidery, needle 
work, dancing and singing, the monotony of this routine 
being relieved by endless quarrels, feuds, and intrigues. 
The male children remained in the harem until the age 
of puberty, when they 
left it in order to con 
tinue their education as 
princes and soldiers 
under the guidance of 
their father. 1 This group 
of buildings was com 
pleted by a park, in 
which cedarsof Lebanon, 
pines, cypresses, gazelles, 
stags, wild asses and 
cattle, and even lions, 
were acclimatised, in ad 
dition to a heterogeneous 



collection of other trees 

and animals. Here, the 

king gave himself up to 

the pleasures of the chase, and sometimes invited one or 

other of his wives to come thither and banquet or drink 

with him. 

After Mita s surrender, Sargon had hoped to be allowed 
to finish building his city in peace ; but an ill-advised 




SECTION OF A BEDROO^I IX THE IIAKEJI. 2 



An inscription of Assur-bani-pal, gives a summary description of the 
life led in the harem by heirs to the throne, and describes generally the kind 
of education received by them from their earliest childhood. 

; Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the restoration by Thomas, in Place, 



410 



SARGOX II. OP ASSYRIA 



movement in Kuinmukk obliged him to don his harness 
again (708 B.C.). King Mutallu had entered into an 
alliance with Argistis of Urartu, and took the field with 
his army ; but when details of what had taken place in 
Chaldsea reached his ears, and he learnt the punishment 
that had been inflicted on the people of Bit-Yakin, his 







MAIN DOOR OF THE HAREM AT DUR-SIIARRUKIX. 1 

courage failed him. He fled without waiting for the 
Assyrians to appear, and so great was his haste that he 
had no time to take his family and treasure with him. 
Sargon annexed his kingdom, placed it under the govern 
ment of the tartan, and incorporated into his own the 
whole army of Kummukh, including 150 chariots, 1500 
horsemen, 20,000 archers, and 10,000 pikemen. In the 
following year (707) his vassal Dalta died, leaving two 

1 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the restoration by Thomas, in Place. 



CONSECRATING A NEW CITY 411 

sons, Nibi and Ishpabara, both of whom claimed possession 
of the fief of Ellipi ; Nibi appealed to Elam for help, and 
Ishpabara at once turned for aid to Assyria. Sargon sent 
him a body of troops, commanded by seven of his generals, 
while Shutruk-nakhnnta lent his protege 4500 bowmen ; 
Ishpabara won the day, took the city of Marubishti by 
storm, and compelled his brother to take refuge in Susiau 
territory. The affair was over so quickly that it caused 
practically no delay in the completion of the works at 
the capital. The consecration of a new city necessitated 
the observance of a host of complicated ceremonies, which 
extended over several months. First of all provision had 
to be made for its religious worship ; the omens were 
consulted in order to determine which of the gods were 
to be invoked, and, when this was decided, there followed 
the installation of the various statues and arks which were 
to preside over the destinies of the city and the priests to 
whom they were intrusted ; the solemn inauguration took 
place on the 22nd day of Tisri, in the year 707 B.C., and 
from that day forward Dur-Sharrukln occupied the rank 
officially assigned to it among the capitals of the empire. 
Sargon, however, did not formally take up his residence 
within it till six months later, on the 6th day of lyyar, 
706. He must, by this time, have been advancing in 
years, and even if we assume him to have been a young 
man when he ascended the throne, after the sixteen years 
of bodily fatigue and mental worry through which he had 
passed since coming into power, he must have needed 
repose. He handed over the government of the northern 
provinces to his eldest son Sin-akhe-irba, better known to 



412 SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA. 

us as Sennacherib, whom he regarded as his successor ; 
to him he transferred the responsibility of keeping watch 
over the movements of the Mannai, of Urartu, and of the 
restless barbarians who dwelt beyond the zone of civilised 
states on the banks of the Halys, or at the foot of the 
distant Caucasus : a revolt among the Tabal, in 706, was 
promptly suppressed by his young and energetic deputy. 
As for Sargon himself, he was content to retain the direct 
control of the more pacific provinces, such as Babylon, the 
regions of the Middle Euphrates, and Syria, and he doubt 
less hoped to enjoy during his later years such tranquillity 
as was necessary to enable him to place his conquests on 
a stable basis. The envious fates, however, allowed him 
but little more than twelve short months : he perished 
early in 705 B.C., assassinated by some soldier of alien birth, 
if I interpret rightly the mutilated text which furnishes 
us with a brief mention of the disaster. Sennacherib was 
recalled in haste from the frontier, and proclaimed king 
immediately on his arrival, thus ascending unopposed to 
the throne on the 12th day of Ab. His father s body had 
been left unburied, doubtless in order that he might verify 
with his own eyes the truth of what had been told him 
concerning his death, and thus have no ground for harbour 
ing suspicions that would have boded ill for the safety of 
the late king s councillors and servants. He looked upon 
his father s miserable ending as a punishment for some 
unknown transgression, and consulted the gods to learn 
what it was that had aroused their anger, refusing to 
authorise the burial within the palace until the various 
expiatory rites suggested by the oracle had been duly 



DEATH OF SARGON HIS CHARACTER 413 

performed. 1 Thus mysteriously disappeared the founder of 
the mightiest dynasty that ever ruled in Assyria, perhaps 
even in the whole of Western Asia. At first sight, it 
would seem easy enough to determine what manner of 

+ 

man he was and to what qualities he owed his greatness, 
thanks to the abundance of documents which his con 
temporaries have bequeathed to us; but when we come 
to examine more closely, we soon find the task to be by no 
means a simple one. The inscriptions maintain so discreet 
a silence with regard to the antecedents of the kings 
before their accession, and concerning their education and 
private life, that at this distance of time we cannot succeed 
in forming any clear idea as to their individual tempera 
ment and character. The monuments record such achieve 
ments as they took pride in, in terms of uniform praise 
which conceal or obliterate the personality of the king in 
question ; it is always the ideal Assyrian sovereign who 
is held up for our admiration under a score of different 
names, and if, here and there, we come upon some trait 
which indicates the special genius of this or that monarch, 
we may be sure that the scribe has allowed it to slip in 
by accident, quite unconscious of the fact that he is thus 
affording us a glimpse of his master s true character and 

1 This is my interpretation of the text published and translated by 
Winckler. Winckler sees in it the account of a campaign during which 
Sargon was killed by mountaineers, as was Cyprus in later times by the 
Massagetae ; the king s body (according to him) remained unburied, and was 
recovered by Sennacherib only after considerable delay. In support of his 
version of this event Winckler cites the passage in Isa. xiv. 4-20a, which he 
takes as having been composed to exult over the death of Sargon, and then 
afterwards adapted to the death of a king of Babylon. 



414: SARGON II. OF ASSYRIA 

disposition. A study of Sargon s campaigns as revealed 
in his annals will speedily convince us that he was some 
thing more than a fearless general, with a keen eye to 
plunder, who could see nothing in the most successful 
expedition but a means of enriching his people or adding 
to the splendours of his court. He was evidently con 
vinced that certain nations, such as Urartu and Elam, 
would never really assimilate with his own subjects, and, 
in their case, he adhered strictly to the old system of 
warfare, and did all he could to bring about their ruin ; 
other nations, on the contrary, he regarded as capable of 
amalgamation with the Assyrians, and these he did his 
best to protect from the worst consequences of their re 
bellion and resistance. He withdrew them from the 
influence of their native dynasties, and converted their 
territories into provinces under his own vigilant administra 
tion, and though he did not scruple to send the more 
turbulent elements among them into exile, and did his 
best to weaken them by founding alien colonies in their 
midst, yet he respected their religion, customs, and laws, 
and, in return for their obedience to his rule, guaranteed 
them an equitable and judicious government. Moreover, 
he took quite as much interest in their well-being as in 
his own military successes, and in the midst of his heroic 
struggles against Eusas and Merodach-baladan he con 
trived to find time for the consideration of such prosaic 
themes as the cultivation of the vine and of corn ; he 
devoted his attention to the best methods of storing wine, 
and sought to prevent " oil, which is the life of man and 
healeth wounds, from rising in price, and the cost of 



SARGON S CHARACTER 415 

sesame from exceeding that of wheat." We seem to see 
in him, not only the stern and at times cruel conqueror, 
but also the gracious monarch, kind and considerate to 
his people, and merciful to the vanquished when policy 
permitted him to indulge his natural leaning to clemency. 



END OF VOL. VII. 



INDEX 



Adaush, 20 

Agusi. See Blt-Agusi 

Ahab, 103, 105, 113-115, 126, 335 

Ahaz, 239, 291, 328, 359 

Ahaz appeals to Assyria, 282, 285 

Ahaziah (of Israel), 117-123 

Ahaziah (of Judah), 126, 127 

Akhiababa, 25 

Akhuni, 49, 93-101 

Akkadians, 302 

Allabria, 367, 368, 382 

Amadai (Madai). See Medes 

Amanos. See Arnanus 

Ainanus (or Ainauos), 117, 119, 132, 163, 

317 

Amaziah, 182, 184, 239 
Ambaridis (Ambaris), 383 
Amika (of Zaniru), 35-39 
Ainmibaal (Prince of Bit-Zainaui), 30, 

41, 47 
Ammon (or Ammonites), 103, 106, 154, 

291 327 

Amon, Priests of, 253, 261, 322, 324 
Ainorites, The, 62 
Amos (the prophet), 209, 210 
Anshan, or Auzan, 345, 347 
Aramaean tribes, 304 
Aramaeans, The, 65, 214, 233, 305, 308, 

333 
Arame (King of Bit- Agusi), 104, 112, 119, 

137 

Aramg (King of Nairi), 91, 99, 101 
Ararat, Mount, 79 
Arashtua, 34, 35 
Araziash, 150 
Arbela, 144, 297 
Argistis I. (ste also Urartu), 161, 162, 

165, 175, 235 
Argistis II., 380, 410 
Aribua, 65 
Aridi, 92 
Arma~n, 108 
Armenia, 151 
Arpad, 51, 150, 166, 179, 222, 225, 305, 

355 



Arpad, Assyrian campaign around, 224 
Arrapkha, 144, 168 
Arvad, 62, 104, 106, 126 
Arzashkun, 100 
Ashdod, 385 
Asherah, The, 201 
Asia Minor, 179, 298 
Asianic steppes, 180 
Assur (the city), 143, 168 
Assur (the god), 111, 143, 234 
Assur, Fighting for the king, 1 
Assur (Assyria), Limmu of, 297 
Assur-dain-pal, 144-147 
Assurd,n II., 4 
Assurdan III., 167 
Assurirba, 3, 48 
Assur-nadinakhe II., 4 
Assur-nazir-pal, Frontispiece, 8, 18, 19, 
31 

Campaign on the Euphrates, 43, 44 

Character of, 75 

Extent of his empire, 63 

Flotilla of, 45 

Mediterranean reached by, 61 

Obelisk of, 3 

Stele of, 68 

Winged bulls of, 70 
Assur-nirari III., 169, 179 
Assyria (or Assur), 162, 351 

Art of, 70, 400 

Cities of, 143 

First encounter of with Egypt, 353 

Hebrew ideas of, 219 

Limits of, 177 

Limini in, 297 

Losses in Syria, 165 

Map of, 299 

State of, under Assur-nazir-pal, 30 
Assyrian attack on a fortress, 175 
Assyrian battering-ram, 12, 13 
Assyrian besieging engines, 11, 12 
Assyrian cavalry, 9, 11, 290 
Assyrian carrying an inflated skin, 339 
Assyrian finance, 313 
Assyrian head, Ivory, 171 
Assyrian militia, 313 



IXDEX 



Assyrian provincial administrators, 310, 

311 

Assyrian soldier, crossing a river, 2 
Assyrian war-chariot, 55 
Athaliah, 114, 152, 193 
Atlila (or Dur-Assur), 38 
Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah, 185, 231, 

279 
Azriyahu, 229, 231 



B 



Baalirasi, Stele at, 130 

Babylon, 142, 148, 149, 341, 347, 392 

Babylonian army, 305 

Babylonian Canon, The, 5 

Babylonian empire, 302 

Balawat, Bronze gates of, 90-93, 101, 

144, 314 
Baqani, 110 

Bau-akhiddin (King of Babylon), 149 
Bazi, 5 

Bedawin, The, 371 
"Bel, Taking the hands of," 15, 295, 

340, 392 

Bel-harran-beluzur, Stele of, 320 
Bel-Merodach, or Marduk, Statue of, 

347 

Bel-nadinshumu, 347 
Benhadad I., 104, 113, 335 
Benhadad II. (Adadidri or Hadadezer), 

103, 115-120, 124 (death of), 125, 

335 

Benhadad III. (see also Mari), 154, 181 
Bethel, 210 

Biainas (or Biaina), 90, 158, 380 
Bit-Adini (in Bit-Dakkuri), 109, 110 
Bit-Adini (in Mesopotamia), 45-49, 93, 

98-102, 118, 119 
Bit-Agusi (lakhanu), 51, 97, 104, 117, 

167, 180, 224, 228, 355 
Bit-Am ukkani, 109, 110, 293, 294 
Bit-Bagaia, Town of, 371 
Bit-Bakhiani, 47, 49 
Bit-Dakkuri (or Bit-Dakuri), 109, 390 
Bit-Khalupi, 23, 24 
Bit-Shalaui, 109 
Bit-Shalli, 109 

Bit-Yakin, 109, 110, 304, 342, 343, 410 
Bit-Zamani, 41, 65, 138. See also Am- 

mibaal 

Black obelisk, The, 105, 135, 141, 189 
Bocchorsi (Bukunirinif), 322, 373 
Borsippa, 149 
Borsippa, Canal of, 392 
Bubastis, Festival hall at, 245 
Bubastis, Temple of, 243 
Burr am man, 41 
Byblos, 133, 230 



Calah, 169, 297, 340, 397, 403 

Calah, Palace of, 66, 67, 73, 75 

Cappadocia, 366, 383 

Carchemish, 50, 59, 94-98, 181, 228 

Carchemish, an Assyrian prefecture, 365 

Chaldeea, 401. See also Karduniasb 

Chalybes, 180 

Cilicia, 94, 135, 138, 366, 383, 396 

Cilician empire, 50 

Cimmerians, The, 381 

Ccele-Syria, 167 

Cossseans, The, 4, 301, 347 

Cyprus submits to Sargon, 395 

D 

Dagara, 32, 33 

Damascus, 62, 103, 105, 111, 119, 124, 
126, 142, 166, 181, 182, 185, 286, 
305, 334, 354 

Fall of kingdom of, 287 

List of kings of, 289 

Map of kingdom of, 283 
Damdamusa, 27, 28, 65, 75 
Damunu, 177 
Dayaini, 161 
Dayan-assur, 138-140 
Delta, The, 253-255 
Demavend (Bikni), 217 
Demavend, Peaks of, 218 
Dhibon (Dibon), 120, 122, 186 
Dhuspas, 159. See also Van 
Dirrseans, The, 40 
Durilu, 353 
Dur-Ladinu, 390, 391 
Dur-papsukal, 148 
Dur-Sharrukin, 397, 402-408 

Palace at, 403, 404 

Plan of, 402 
Dur-Yakin, 342, 344, 394, 395 



E 



E,mukin-shumu, 5, 6 

Edom (see also Idumea), 154, 231, 291, 
386 

Edomites, The, 184 

Egypt, Brook of (Wady-el-Arish), 182, 

360 

First encounter of, with Assyria, 357 
Isaiah s prophecy against, 385 
Map of middle Egypt, 262 

Egyptian altar, 203 

Egyptian ivory from Nineveh, 171, 337 

Elam, 343, 347, 351, 367, 393, 401 

Elamites, 302 

Elealeh, 186 



INDEX 



Elephants as tribute, 137 

Elijah, 125 

Elisha, 125, 183, 206 

Ellipi, 367, 382, 411 

Eponym Canon, 7 

Ethiopia, 254, 386 

Ethiopian empire in Egypt, 275 

Ethiopian kings, The, 255 

Ethiopian types, 200 

Ethiopians, The, 255 

Etius (Etiaus), 165, 179, 380 

Eulbar-shakinshumi, 4, 5 

Euphrates, The, 43, 342 

Ezion-geber, 121, 188 

,F 

Fariua (or Paripa), 98 
G 

Garnbuia (or Gambulu), The, 177, 351, 

388, 389 

Gananatg, 107, 168 
Garparuda, 104 
Gath, 154 

Gaza, 336, 355, 357 
Gebel-Barkal, 256 
Gilead, 151, 305 
Gilzan, 20, 38, 92, 142, 156 
Gilzan, Tribute from, 100-103 
Gizilbunda, 146, 150 
Gordyaean mountains, 79, 91, 140, 156 
Gozan, 150 
Gurgum, 51, 93, 104, 181, 223, 228, 384 



H 



Habardip, 347, 348 

Hadad, The god, 57 

Hadadezer (or Adadidri). See Benhadad 
II. 

Hadrach (Katarika), 151, 166, 185, 230 

Halebiyeh, Gorge of, 43, 45 

Hauiath, 61, 103, 105, 117, 126, 181, 185, 
354. 370, 372 

Hamath, Captive from, 151 

Hannon of Gaza, 355, 357 

Harilu, The, 177 

Harran, 143, 144 

Harstisit, 253 

Hauran, The, 130 

Hazael, 125, 151, 182, 335 

Hebrew literature, 195 

Hebrew merchants, 188 

Hebrews, 187, 335 
Dress of, 190 

Industry and commerce of, 187 
Political organization of, 192 



Trade of, 187 
Heliopolis, 245 
Heracleopolis, 246, 264 
Herinon, Mount, 288 
Hermopolis, 246 
Hermopolis, Temple of, 263 
Heshbon, 186 
Hittite, 30 
Hittite empire, 165 
Hittite states, 62, 162 
Hittites, The, 82, 333. See also Khati 

and Patina 

Hittites, Submission of, 59 
Horses as tribute, 314, 315 
Hosea (the prophet), 211, 231 
Hoshea, King of Israel, 289, 327 



lanzu, The, 119 

lasbuki, 94 

laubidi of Hamath, 354, 357 

laubidi flayed alive, 356 

laudi, 166 

Idumea, 103. See also Edom 

Ilauiu, 36, 37 

Imgur-Bel (Balawat), 74 

Iranzu, 362 

Irba-ramman, 4 

Irkanata (Arqanatu), 103 

Isaiah, the prophet, 279, 328, 359, 385 

Isaiah s prophecy against Egypt, 386 

Ishpuiuis (Ushpina), 156-160, 235 

Israel, 103, 116, 153 

Fall of, 333 

Kingdom of, 151 

Tribute to Shalinaneser, 132 
Israelite captives, 152 
Israelites, The, 326 

Bas-relief of, 189 
Itua, 178 
Izalla, 27, 47, 65 
Izirtu. See Zirtu 



Jehoahaz (of Israel), 153, 182 
Jehoash (of Israel), 182, 183 
Jehoram (of Judah), 114, 123 
Jehoshaphat, 114, 115, 121, 123, 188 
Jehu, 127-129, 142, 151, 153, 207 
Jehu, Tribute of, 131 
Jeroboam II., 185, 231, 278 
Jerusalem, 128, 281, 327 

Besieged by Eezin, 241 
Jewish concepts of God, 198, 199 
Jewish histories, 197 
Jewish priesthood, 201 
Jewish prophets, 205 
Jezebel, 128 



INDEX 



Jezreel, 129 

Joash (of Judah), 152, 153, 182 
Joram (of Israel), 116, 120, 123, 127 
Jotham (of Judah), 231, 239, 279 
Judah, Kingdom of, 113, 114, 152, 153, 

359 
Judah, Kings of 

Subjects of, 190, 191 

Their mercenaries, 192 

K 

Kakzi, 33 

Kalakh. See Calah 

Kalda, The (or Aramaeans), 4, 106, 148, 

150, 177, 215, 289, 296, 304, 345, 

351, 387, 393 
Kalda refugees, 343 
Kaldu, A, 294 
Kammanu (Coinana), 383 
Karduniash (or Babylonia), 149, 214, 

304, 347, 395 

Karomama, Statuette of Queen, 175 
Kashshu-nadinakhe, 5 
Kashta, 322-325 
Kelishin, Stele of, 156, 157 
Khabur, The, 22 
Khaldi, The, of Urartu, 82 
Khaldis (the Urartian god), 86, 87, 160 
Khalludush, 346 
Khalybes, The, 83 
Khalzidipkha, 27 
Khamanu, 42 
Kharkhar, 371 
Kharu (see also Israel, Judah, Ammon, 

and Moab), 243 

Khatarika, 151. See also Hadrach 
Khali, The, 48, 49, 82, 111, 119, 157, 

180, 181, 362-365. See also Hittites 
Khati, Chariot of, 54 
Khati, Twelve kings of, 103, 126 
Khindanu, 26, 43/45 
Khindaru, 177 
Khirki, 20 
Khmunu, 246 

Submission of, 269 

Khninsu (Heracleopolis Ahnas), 246 
Khninsu, 246, 254, 258 
Khuinsu, Temple at, 249 
Khubushkia, 20, 38, 92, 101, 140, 150, 

156, 162, 179, 371, 377 
Khudun, 34, 35 
Khumban-igash, 351 
Khumban-numena, 345 
Kinalua, 139, 167, 228 
Kir-hareseth, or Ker-Moab (Kerak), 122 
Kirkhi, 20, 30 

Kir of Moab (same as Kir-hareseth), 186 
Kirruri, 19, 20 
Kishisim, City of, 369 



Kissirtu, 34, 35 

Kition, or Citium (Amathus), 396 

Kui, The, 93, 94, 106, 132, 137, 181, 371, 

393, 395 
Kummukh, 23, 39, 51, 98, 181, 222, 384, 

410 

Kunulua, 58 
Kurkh, Monolith of, 143 
Kurkhi, 40 

Kush, 386. See also Ethiopia 
Kuta, 149 
Kutur-nakhunta, 346 



Labdudu, 177 

Lachish (Tell-el-Hesy) , 185 

Lalati (or Lulati), 93 

Laqi, 26, 42, 45 

Libnah, 124 

Limmi, The, 297 

Litau, 177 

Liyan, 345 

Lubarna, 52, 57-61 

Lubarna II., 139 

Lullume, 32 

M 

Malamir, Bas-relief of, 349 
Malaniir, Princes of, 349 
Manda, The, 382 

Mannai, The (the Minni), 81, 90, 140, 
150, 155, 157, 164, 363, 366, 368, 371 
Mansuati (or Mausuate), 151, 187 
Marduk, 107 
Marduk-abal-uzur, 142 
Marduk-balatsu-ikbi (King of Babylon), 

147, 148 

Marduk-belusate, 107, 108 
Marduk-mudammiq of Namri, 119 
Marduk-uadin-shumu, 107-109 
Mari (see also Benhadad III.), 154, 181 
Mariru, 28 

Mashauasha, The (Maxyes), 246 
Matiatg, 39 
Medes, The, 168, 363 

Defeat of, by Sargon, 371 
Media, 150, 216, 234, 298, 401 

Map of, 216 
Median town, 381 
Mediterranean reached by Assur-nazir- 

pal, 62 
Megiddo, 128 
Melitene, 104, 157, 223 
Memphis, 246, 358 

Captured by Pionkhi, 271 
Menahem, 193, 232, 238, 278 

Homage of, 233 






INDEX 



Meuuas, 156, 175, 235 

Conquests of, 157 
Merodach-baladan, or Marduk-abalidinna 

(King of Babylon), 332, 343, 387, 

393 

Mesha (King of Moab), 120, 122 
Mesha, Stele of, 122, 194 
Mesopotamia, Map of, 44 
Mg-Turnat (or Meturnat), 107, 147 
Milicldu, 383, 384 
Misi (or Misu), 146, 150 
Misianda in the North (see also Misi), 

363 

Mita (of Mushki), 370, 395, 409 
Mitatti, 362-368, 377 
Moab, 121, 189, 291, 327, 385 
Moab, delivered from Israel, 122 
Moabite stone, 123, 193 
Mushezib-marduk, The, submit to Sar- 

gon, 395 
Mushku (or Mushki), The, 23, 82, 393, 

394 

Mutton II. (or Mattan), 289, 291 
Muzazir, 87, 140, 156, 379 
Muzri, 137, 142 
Muzri, Tribute of, 137 



N 



Naaman, 125 

Nabonazir (or Nabunazir), King of Baby 
lon, 215, 292 
Naboshumishkun, 6 
Nabu-baliddin, 5, 63, 107, 215 
Nairi, 7, 30, 31, 64, 99, 118 

(Assur-nazir-pal s First Campaign in), 
25 

(Assur-nazir-pal s Second Campaign 
in), 27 

(Assur-nazir-pal s Third Campaign in), 
29 

(Assur-nazir-pal s Fourth Campaign 
in), 31 

lanzu of, 370 

Map of, 21 
Namri, 119, 135, 140, 150, 163, 164, 169, 

216 

NamrOti, 247, 250, 254, 263, 264, 275 
Napata, 255 

Ruins of, 255 

Temple of Amon at, 257, 258 
Nappigi, 99 

Narmarratum, The, 342 
Naram-sin, Bas-relief of, 348 
Negub (tunnel of), 73 
Nineveh, 143, 301, 340, 397 
Ninip (patron of Calah), 68 
Ninip-kudurusur, 6 
Nirbu, 28, 29, 65, 162 



Nishpi, 34 
Nisibis, 144 
Nomes, The seven, 253 
Nummi (or Nimmi), 19 
Nurramma~u (sheikh of Dagara), 32, 33. 
39 

O 

Obelisk (Black). See Black 
Oniri, 126, 194 

Omri, Fall of the house of, 129 
Orontes, 52 
Osorkon I., 244, 245 
Osorkon I., Statuette of, 242 
Osorkon II., 244, 247, 250 
Osorkon III., 253, 275 
Oxyrrhynchos, Ruins of, 263 



Palestine, 401 

Paripa (or Farina), 98 

Parsua (Parsuash), 135, 140, 150, 163 r 

368 
Patina, The, 52, 93, 94, 98, 104, 117, 

139, 142, 166 
Captivity of, 151 
Gods of, 56 
Submission of, 59 
Tribute from, 105 
Pefzaabastit, 254, 268, 275 
Pekah, 239, 240, 278, 285 
Persian Gulf, 342 
Petubastis, King, 252, 253 
Philistines, The, 153, 276, 285, 291, 326, 

333, 385 
Phoenicia, 103, 150 

Cities of, 52, 61, 230, 285 
Northern, 355 
Phoenician alphabet, 195 
Phoenician bowl with Egyptian decora 
tion, 173 
Phoenician intaglio, belonging to M. de 

Rouge", 338 
Phrygians, 180 
Pionkhi, 261, 322 
Pi6ukhi captures Memphis, 271 
PiSnkhi invades Middle Egypt, 263 
Pitru (Pethor), 99 
Psamuti, 322, 355 
Pukudu (or Puqudu), The (Pekod), 177, 

293, 351, 389 
Pul (or Pulu). See also Tiglath-pileser 

III., 169 



Qarqar, 105, 111, 356 
Qarqar, Battle of, 106, 153 



IXDEX 



R 



Ramman-nirari II., 4 

Raninian-uirari III., 4, 149, 154, 178 

Rainotk (Gilead), 115, 182 

Raphia, 375 

Raphia, Battle of, 357 

Razappa. See Rezeph 

Rezeph (Razappa), 297 

Rezin II. (or Rezou), 232. 239, 240, 288 

Fall of, 291 

Homage of, 233 
Rowaudiz, Stele of (see also Kelishin, 

Stele of), 156 
Rubuu, The, 178 
Rusas I., 361, 362, 366, 367, 370 
Ruua, The, 178 



Sabaco (Shabaka), 325, 375, 384 
Samalla, 52, 93-98, 104, 166, 181, 225, 

229 

Samalla, Gods of, 57 
Samaria, 114, 124, 231, 327, 355 
Egyptian faction in, 278 
Fall of, 332 

Revolt of, under Hosea, 327 
Samsi-ramman IV., 145, 148, 149, 156 

298 

Samsi-rammau, Monolith of, 148 
Sargon of Assyria, 334, 339 
Bas-relief of, 334 
Death of, 413 
Defeats the Medes, 371 
Glass vessel bearing name of, 336 
Stele of, at Kition, 396 
Sargon s conquest of Babylon, 391 
Sargonicls, The, 340 
Scythians, The, 382 
Sennacherib (Sin-akhe-irba), 412 
Sepharvaim (or Sibraim), 325 
Shabaka. See Sabaco 
Shabaku. See Sabaco 
Shabarain. See Sepharvaim 
Shadikanni, 24 
Shalmaneser III. (known also as Shal- 

maneser II.), 77, 89, 101, 297, 335 
Building works of, 141 
Campaigns of, 77, 137 
In Syria, 116 
In Urartu, 90 
In Van, 91 

War against Babylon, 107 
Shalmaneser IV., 162, 185 

Campaigns in Urartu, 103 
Shalmaneser V. (Ululai), 169, 321, 331, 

344 
Sham ash -mudammiq, 6 



Shapaluluine, 94, 98 

Sharduris I., King of Urartu, 91 

Sharduris II. (or Seduri), 138, 155, 213 

221, 223, 234 
Sharduris III., 178, 179 
Sheshouq II., 252 
Shianu (Sin) or Sianu, 103, 106 
Shilauimshukamuna, 6 
Shilkhak-inslmshinak, Brick of, 346 
Shugunia, Prisoners from, 94 
Shupria, 29 

Shutruk-nakhunta I., 347, 348 
Shutruk-nakhunta II., 389 
Siamun, Sphinx of, 248 
Sidon (see also Tyre), 133 
Siloam, Hebrew inscription of, 241 
Simashshikhu (or Simbarshiku). 4, 6 
Simbarshikhu. See Simashshikhu 
Sippara, 392 
Sukhi, 42, 45, 64, 142 
Sukhi, Country of, 142 
Sumeriaus, 302 
Suru, 25 
Susa, 345 

Susa, Kings of, 346 
Syria, 8, 50, 151, 321, 401 

Map of, 50 

Northern, 63, 180, 228, 298, 366 

Revolt of, 355 

Tiglath-pileser III. s campaigns in, 288 
Syrian armies, 55 
Syrian arts, 55 
Syrian religions, 55 
Syrian states and civilisation, 51 



Tabal, The, 82, 134, 180, 364, 382, 401, 

412 

Tafnakhti, 262, 273, 322 
Tafnakhti s offerings, 276 
TakelQti II., 250, 251 
"Tarshish, Ship of," 121 
Tartan, The, 138 ; of 2 Kings xviii. 17, 

292 ; of Isaiah xx. 1, 385 
Teisbas (Urartian god), 89 
Tela or Tila (in Kirbu), 20, 28 
Tentramu, 254 
Thebes, 209, 255, 358 
Thebes, Principality of, 247 
Tiglath-pileser II., 4 

Tiglath-pileser III. (or Pul), 166, 175, 
192, 295, 310 

Campaigns in Karduniash and Media, 
215 

Campaigns against Ukinzir, 293 

In his chariot, 232 

In Syria, 288 

Takes Babylon, 295 



INDEX 



Tila. See Tela 

Tilluli, 65 

Toprah-Kaleh, 84, 85 

Tukulti-uiuip, 27 

Tukulti-ninip II., 7 

Tul-Abni, 106 

Tul-Barsip (capital of Bit-Adini), 46, 98, 

99, 104, 112 
Tulgarimmg, 383, 384 
Turat, Quarries of, 134 
Tushkhau, 29, 42, 65, 143, 144 
Tyre, 130, 133 

U 

Ukinzir, 292, 294 

Ukiuzir, Tiglath -pileser III., Campaigns 

against, 293 
Ullusunu, 367, 370, 377 
Unki, 58, 166, 181, 228, 238, 305 
Urartian empire, Close of, 379 
Urartian stele, 164 

Urartu, or Kingdom of Van (Armenia), 
78, 81, 90, 99, 119, 138, 140, 142, 
168, 228, 234, 362, 401 

Assyrian conquest of, 237 

Assyrian invasion of, 219 

Civilisation of, 83 

Expansion of, 181 

Growth of, 155 

In Syria, 218 

Map of, 82 

Shalmaneser III. in, 89 

Shalmaneser IV., campaigns in, 163 



Town in, 378 

View of, 221 
Uruiniah, Lake (Lower Sea of Nairi), 80 T 

81, 102, 140, 156, 162, 163 
Urzana, 379 
Usauata, 106 
Ushanat (Uznu), 104 
Uzziah (see also Azariah), 279 



Van, Lake (Upper Sea of Nairi), 80, 81, 

100 

Van, Lake, Gods of, 95 
Van (or Dhuspas), 84, 160, 161 

Citadel of, 161 

View of, 235 



Zab, the lesser (Zab Shupalu), 34, 178 

Zab, the greater (Zabu Ilu), 15, 17, 73 

Zamru. See Amika 

Zamua, 32, 34, 35 

Zaniua, Map of, 33 

Zikartu, 363, 364, 368, 377 

Zinjirli (or Sinjirli), 52 

Column at, 318 

Gates of, 226 

Plan of, 226 

Portico at, 316 

Royal Castle of. 227 
Zirtu (Izirtu), 140 



Si 





MASPERO, SIR G. C. C. 



History of Egypt. 



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DATE 


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